Going Undercover
by you-claimed-my-pen-name
Summary: Ikuto and Amu enroll in a new school pretending to be siblings to investigate another x-egg making rumour. But it's not going as planned and Amu gets into a lot of trouble. Amuto! Please read. Sequel of the actual story. OCs included
1. Chapter 1

**-Chapter One-**

**another amuto fan fiction- An Undercover Investigation**

**Sorry, I played around with the ages a little. Amu is around 13-14 and Ikuto is ****still**** 17. sorry. " Sorry i changed the Characters. **

This had seemed like a good idea not too long ago. Amu froze nervously on the front steps of the school looming over her.

Ikuto, currently playing Amu's big brother, was beside her, looking perfectly composed and prepared. "Amu? What are you doing?"

"Amu-chan! You can do it!" Ran cheered.

"Don't be scared, desu," Su urged.

"She's supposed to be the heroine…" Miki sighed.

"And yet she can't even proceed to the first day of school," Dia finished with a smile.

Ikuto smirked and leaned closer to Amu. "Are you feeling well? Should I carry you into the school, my princess?" he whispered in her ear.

Amu flinched away reflexively. "I'm fine. I can do this."

The guardians had elected Amu to go undercover into a transfer school because they suspect that a person here is creating x-eggs. Amu would be going to a different school in Tokyo and she would be living there for a while too. They had told her parents a lie and Easter had funded for her school fees since she was friends with Easter's Gozen now. However, everyone was a little nervous about letting Amu go on her own- she needed someone older to go with her. Luckily, Tsukiyomi Ikuto happened to be back in town and he was asked to go along with her.

Just by being exposed to the public for a few minutes, Ikuto, in his black blazer, navy trousers and a cross necklace, was already becoming noticed.

"Hey, that boy over there looks cool. Is he a new student?"

"The younger girl looks cool too. Are they together?"

Amu, standing out in her white blazer, navy skirt, matching thigh-high socks and her trademark shoulder bag, glanced around nervously. "Are people looking at us?"

Ikuto didn't seem to worry about it. "We _are_ new students after all."

It was a nice day, with the sun out and no hint of rain. Ikuto would have skipped school on a day such as this, but Amu was right next to him, and it was enough to make up for it.

Amu fiddled with her shoulder bag and tried to put on a brave appearance. "Let's go, Ikuto."

Ikuto glanced down at her with a serious face. "Is that any way to address your big brother?"

Amu glared up at him. "Sorry… o-onii-chan…"

**(A/N: Onii-chan = big brother I think)**

Satisfied, Ikuto smirked. Indeed, he'd go to school if that meant that he could be with Amu. This embarrassed, cute face filled with rage was one of Amu's interesting facial expressions he'd been observing. He patted her on the head in a casual movement, and strolled off when Amu looked up at him with puzzled and questioning golden eyes, which turned into a glare as they followed the blue-haired boy.

"Amu-chan, we should go too!" Ran exclaimed.

"You shouldn't be late to your first day of school, desu," Su agreed.

"Right," Amu nodded and ran off to her first class just in time for the school-bell to ring, echoing in the school halls.

Our pink-haired heroine heaved a sigh and stretched her long legs out in front of her when the dismissing bell rang. When she panicked, or was forced to speak in front of an audience, her "Cool-and-Spicy" aura leaked out, and that's precisely what happened on her first day of school. A few of her classmates threw curious glances at her, but other than that, they treated her like she didn't exist.

"Amu-chan. How could you?" Ran wailed.

"You can't let them see your cool side," Miki agreed.

"That's the worst trait for making friends, desu," Su scolded.

"What am I supposed to do?" Amu hissed, keeping her voice low in the fear that her class would overhear them. "I can't help it. I had to do something."

"But… we're back to where we started," Ran pointed out.

"All that time spent with the Guardians and us didn't change you at all," Miki added.

"You should try to make friends, desu," Su told her.

"Amu-chan," Dia's calm and soft voice caught their attention. "Don't worry. In time, your classmates will see your radiance."

"Dia…" Amu said, grateful of those words.

"Us too, Amu-chan!" Miki exclaimed.

"We believe in you, desu," Su smiled.

"You can do it, Amu-chan!" Ran shook her pink pom-poms. "We'll be with you!"

Amu smiled at her shugo charas. "You guys too… thank you. I'll try my best."

"Why are you smiling by yourself?"

She whipped around to face an unfamiliar voice. One of her classmates, a girl with an aura of superiority stood tall, with her arms crossed, looking down at Amu.

**(A/N: I don't want to name any of my own characters)**

"You were also talking to yourself," she continued in a sneer. "What's wrong with you?"

A sharp pain stabbed her chest. "E-Eh…? Um…"

"Hey, stop bullying the new student," one of the boys shouted from across the room.

Amu hadn't noticed it, but the whole classroom was now silent. The girl turned abruptly and flicked her silky, blonde hair.

"Eh? But don't you guys think that it's weird?" she questioned in a sweet voice. "She was talking and smiling by herself. And what's with the cool act during the introduction?"

"Amu-chan! Fight back!" Ran urged.

Her shugo charas could not stand to see their owner being bullied. But Amu had no will to fight back. This was the first time she'd been bullied, and she couldn't even move.

The girl looked back to her and leered in an unfriendly way. "You look so stupid. Why are you frozen? Were you bullied in your old school too? Is that why you came here?"

Amu opened her mouth to speak. "T-That's…"

She wanted to say, "That's not true." But the words wouldn't come out.

"Hey, stop it now. She looks so scared." The other classmates implied.

The girl sighed, like she couldn't help it that Amu couldn't talk. "You're such a pitiful creature…" she placed a manicured hand on Amu's shoulder. "_You make me sick_."

**(A/N: Okay. Just so we're clear. I also have no idea why the girl decides to bully Amu. I think that it's because she's threatened by Amu's cool-and-spicy aura, or she's jealous that she gets someone like Ikuto. Or she just bullies everyone in school for no reason. The other classmates seem to be afraid of her too… so… But then again, the other classmates don't actually like Amu either. I wonder why)**

There was a sound of a light smack and the girl's hand was slapped away from Amu's shoulder. Both girls turned their heads to see Ikuto standing beside his precious one in a protective stance. While Amu managed to regain her courage with Ikuto beside her, the other girl was mesmerized by a certain blue-haired boy.

"Ikuto…?" Amu's voice came out in a hoarse whisper.

He looked down at her with a composed and gentle expression. "Are you okay, Amu?"

"U-Um… who might you be?"

Her tone was sweet and innocent, but Ikuto glared at her with rage and disgust. "Don't touch her."

The blonde was surprised by his sudden threatening expression. Her blue eyes flickered from Amu to Ikuto, trying to figure out their relationship. With one hand, he took Amu's and with the other, he grabbed her schoolbag. Amu didn't object as he led her out of school. For some reason, his presence soothed her jumbled feelings. When tears sprang to her eyes, she gripped his hand tighter, for support.

"Did she hurt you?" Ikuto asked without stopping.

Amu kept her eyes on the ground. "No."

He sighed with relief. "Honestly, why didn't you fight back?" he asked, stopping when the school was no longer in view, and turned to Amu.

Amu looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I don't know what happened. Fighting back isn't my character anyway!" She glanced at her shugo charas meaningfully.

Ran helped her to become a cute and energetic girl. Miki helped her to become a cool and sophisticated girl. Su helped her to be a sweet and nice girl, and Dia helped her to become a radiant girl who shines brightly. None of them could chara-change with her when she was being bullied.

"T-That's not true, Amu-chan, desu!" Su disagreed.

"We're who you want to be, your shugo charas," Miki said.

"But the person who is strong enough to fight back, that's inside you, Amu-chan!" Ran shouted.

"Amu-chan…" Dia started.

"Shut up!" Amu shouted. "You're wrong! I couldn't make any friends in the end anyway!"

"Amu!" Ikuto said sternly, feeling that they were losing her.

She released his hand and ran off without another word.

"Amu-chan!" her shugo charas shouted after her, concerned. But she didn't turn back.

**End of Chapter 1**

**SO HOW WAS IT? TOO LONG? TOO BORING? TOO DOESN'T-MAKE-SENSE-AT-ALL? I'M SORRY I DON'T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT. IF I AM DOING SOMETHING WRONG, PLEASE TELL ME SO I CAN FIX IT. **

**THANKS FOR READING.**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION – AN UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION**

RECAP: AMU'S GETTING BULLIED AT HER NEW SCHOOL FOR A REASON NONE OF US KNOW

**Thinking that this story's online just gets me panicking. I'm so bad that I don't even know why you're reading this. :'(**

**Altered facts: They're in Tokyo, but they're renting an apartment together because they're pretending to be siblings. Actually, I don't know if the actual story was set in Tokyo or not. And I call myself a fan. -_- **

**Thank you, _.Megan_, _Guoste-chan_ and _Purple Neko-chan_! For the reviews, and also for the idea about naming my characters. I didn't want to do it because it might change the whole Shugo Chara essence, or something, and I wanted to keep it as Shugo Chara-like as possible. But I also think that using names might make it easier :D**

**So please suggest any names and I will try to use them when possible. Well, we need one for the mean girl now, and then I'm going to need one for another girl, and maybe some of her friends. But right now, I'll just use the names of your account names, okay? So it's… Yuki-chan, Gouste-chan, and Neko-chan. ^_^ Hope you don't mind.**

Amu sat in P.E. position at the foot of her bed. She heard the door open, the jingle of the keys, and the soft _thud_ that tore through the silence as the door shut again. She didn't hear any footsteps approaching- as expected of the perverted cat- but then he was right beside her.

"Amu-chan…" Ran floated behind Ikuto, with the others. She looked crushed, seeing Amu like this. What all the charas wanted was for their owner to be happy.

Amu sniffled, composing herself. "…I'm sorry I acted that way."

The charas' eyes brightened as they cracked a smile and flew over to their owner. "Amu-chan!"

Ikuto and Yoru watched quietly as the five of them embraced. She turned to Ikuto.

"Thanks… for saving me."

Surprise flitted across his face, but swiftly changed into a smile.

"And I'm okay now," she added, smiling.

"What about school?" Ran asked.

"We should tell the guardians that you can't do it and let someone else do it," Miki said.

Amu shook her head. "I won't let them down."

"But… you're getting bullied, desu," Su said quietly.

"It would be too suspicious if I suddenly drop out of school and someone else comes. Besides, Ikuto can't just switch sisters."

"I won't go…" Ikuto inserted, sitting down beside her.

"What?"

"If you're not there, then I won't go either."

Amu started to blush. "W-What are you saying, you idiot? It doesn't matter because I'm not going anywhere anyway."

"I'm glad…" Ikuto mumbled, leaning his head on her shoulder.

"What are you…? Ikuto?"

"Come to me… if they bully you again…"

"What nonsense are you sprouting again? …Ikuto?"

"He's sound asleep," Ran informed her.

"No way! That fast?"

"Seems like it."

Amu secretly smiled. "You haven't changed at all," she whispered, as she too, fell asleep.

"Are you _sure_ you want to do this?" Ikuto asked seriously.

Amu nodded. "I'm sure."

They stood in the doorway of the house, on the way to school for the second time. Their shugo charas floated alongside them.

Amu grinned convincingly. "I'll just ignore them! That's what supposed to do, right? If I stop talking to my shugo charas, then they can't think that I'm weird."

"You might get bullied again, and knowing that you'd still go?"

"A promise is a promise!" she concluded. ***referring to the promise she made with the guardians to find the culprit.**

A small smile formed on his lips. "That's so like you," he said quietly.

"Did you say something?"

"Come on. We're going to be late to school."

The second day was much like the first. People stared as they entered the school. _New students._ Amu mentally sighed, automatically hunching her shoulders with fear. Ikuto was walking beside her, looking bored, and walked her all the way to her classroom.

"…Thanks…" she mumbled and went in. Was he worried, or was he making sure that she wasn't going to run away?

The blonde girl, whose given name was Yuki, as Amu remembered it, smirked at her.

"You needed an escort to get here?"

Amu cringed, but proceeded to pretending that she didn't exist. _Why is she bullying me?_ She thought all the same. Yuki perched on the edge of Amu's desk, acting sweet.

"Hey… who's that guy? What's your relationship? Are you his girlfriend?"

"Don't reply, Amu-chan!" Ran objected.

"Fight on!" Miki urged.

When Amu failed to reply, it angered Yuki. "Hmmpt," she scoffed. "He wouldn't go out with trash like you. You must've blackmailed him." And with that parting sentence, she left.

"What's her problem?" Ran stuck her tongue out.

"She's so mean, desu," Su agreed.

Miki watched her intensely, frowning.

"Is something the matter, Miki?" Dia questioned.

"Hmm… I thought I sensed something," she replied.

"An x-egg?" Amu asked before she could stop herself.

"… not like that. Something else, but I could be wrong."

"More importantly, Amu-chan, you're not supposed to talk!" Ran scolded.

"If you want to say something, write it down, desu," Su smiled.

Amu grabbed a pencil and scribbled down in her book "I got it already! "

Later on, though, they found out that it wasn't just the girl who was bullying her. Turns out, the whole class was ignoring her. When the teacher told the class to form into groups of 6, Amu was the only one who wasn't in a group. And in the group, no-one actually listened to her ideas, nor acted like she was there. This infuriated her shugo charas, and made her nervous. Why did it have to turn out this way?

Lunch-break came, and she sat down at her seat, staring out the window again.

"Amu-chan… do you want to go to the cafeteria to eat?" Ran asked.

She continued to stare through the window.

"What about the library?" Miki suggested.

Still no reply.

"You should at least eat your bento, desu!" Su told her, worried that Amu might starve.

"Everyone… we should leave Amu-chan alone for now," Dia said quietly.

They looked at Amu, knowing that she was feeling down, and feeling horrible for not being able to cheer her up.

A small riot broke out in the class and caught Amu's attention. She turned around to see Ikuto in the doorway.

"Isn't he a senior? What's he doing here?" the class murmured. "He's so cool."

Amu sweat-dropped. He was popular even in the lower classes? Ikuto's eyes met hers, and he smirked as if to say, _Why are you sitting there, looking like that?_

She felt like saying, "Shut up," but he wasn't saying anything. Instead, she glared at him as he walked right up to her, ignoring anyone who tried to talk to him.

"…What?" Amu finally asked.

"Don't be so cold towards me," Ikuto wore his teasing face. "I came to see if you were being bullied again" – an icy glare towards the class- "because your onii-tan was worried."

"I'm fine," Amu replied, although she was secretly glad that he came for her.

"Come with me," he said and left the class.

Amu blinked. Come? Come with him where? She sighed and went after him, ignoring the curious gazes of the classmates.

"Hey, Ikuto… where are we going?" she questioned as she followed him up a flight of stairs.

He led her up to the rooftop, which puzzled Amu.

"There's no-one here," she said, uncertainly.

"If you want to escape from the classroom, you can come here," he told her.

"Ikuto…" Amu was grateful about his thoughtfulness. "Thanks for coming with me and pretending to be my brother!"

Ikuto casually ruffles her hair and replies with a smile.

-Meanwhile-

Yuki was eavesdropping on their conversation.

"As I thought. They're not siblings…" she whispered aloud.

"And that Ikuto fella has a shugo chara too!" Yuki's shugo chara, a gorgeous girl with the same blonde hair and sky-blue eyes as Yuki's, popped out from behind her.

Yuki grinned. "So it would seem, Guoste-chan."

**Whoa, I write so much. I was supposed to have ended the problem of the bullying in here, but I wanted Amuto moments in them, so I just squeezed them in, and before I knew it, I'd done three pages. Damn. :P**

**I'll probably solve things in the next chapter. So please keep on reading, and reviewing. It really means a lot to me. ^_^ And as always, Thank you so much for reading my story! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**ANOTHER AMUTO STORY **

**I'll just get straight to the point and stop talking. But I still want to thank you, who chose my story to read out of all others. I'll return the favour by reading yours.**

"He wouldn't go out with _trash like you_," Yuki had said. Those words kept repeating themselves like a broken recorder in Amu's mind. She glanced at Ikuto, who was lying on the couch, reading a manga from Amu's room, and wondered if it was true. Would he go out with her? Probably not. Ikuto was popular, and there were many girls who were interested in him. Surely, she was just someone he liked to tease. Ikuto glanced up and met her eye.

"What?" he asked.

Amu, embarrassed that she was caught staring, blushed frantically. "N-Nothing."

Ikuto continued to stare at her as she broke eye-contact and tried to finish her homework. After a few minutes, she closed her book and stretched.

"I'm going to bed," she announced, accompanied with a yawn.

Her sleepy shugo charas followed her to her room and retreated back into their individual eggs. The door creaked open and Ikuto stepped in, gazing at Amu's unconscious face. His lips curved up into a small smile, and wondered what she was dreaming of.

"It's been a while, Amu," he whispered, walking to her bed. "… How long are you going to make me wait? You haven't grown at all."

"I can never let my guard down around you, you perverted cat!" Amu accused.

She had woken up this morning to find Ikuto sleeping in her bed, which occurred often while he was freeloading in her house when Easter was chasing him.

"But you looked so cold that I had to hug you to keep you warm," Ikuto clarified.

"No excuses!" she snapped.

He pouted. They were on their way to school once more, and it was fortunate that Ikuto was keeping her mind off it.

"Honestly, you… sleeping in someone else's bed when they're asleep…" she grumbled. A constant ringing interrupted them. Amu fished for her pink phone from her bag and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello Amu-chi!" Yaya's voice blasted through. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. So is Ikuto," she replied. "How's everyone?"

"It's boring without Amu-chi. Yaya has only Rima-tan to play with," the childish girl complained.

Amu smiled at the sound of her friend's voice. "We'll find the culprit and be back soon."

"Do you have a lot of friends? Are you as popular as you are here?" Yaya asked.

Amu's hands shook a little, and her face fell the tiniest bit. "Well… um, yeah."

"Really? I'm glad things are going so well."

"Yaya, who are you talking to? You're going to be late to school," Rima's flat voice could be heard.

"Ah, Rima-tan! Sorry, Amu-chi. I have to go now!" she said cheerfully.

"Amu?" Rima asked before the call ended with a beep.

She closed the phone and sighed. How she missed being with the Guardians.

_But…_ she thought, looking up at Ikuto. _At least he's here._

"I got it!" Miki yelled in the middle of class, startling everyone who could hear her.

It took all of Amu's concentration to not react to that. The other charas, however, acted as they pleased.

"What is it, Miki?" Ran questioned.

"That feeling I had before…" Miki explained. "I think that it's the presence of another shugo chara."

The others charas gasped. "Really?" Ran asked.

"I can't feel anything, desu," Su said, focusing all her energy into the so-called, "Hunch-radar" (or the "One-way-or-another-radar" to those who watched the anime version).

Amu wrote down, "Is it someone from this class?"

"I don't know," Miki admitted.

"Maybe it was Yoru," Dia suggested.

"What-nya?" the cat chara suddenly appeared, surprising everyone.

"Y-Yoru!" Ran shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"I was bored so I came to play, nya. What are you guys doing?"

"Miki felt the presence of another shugo chara, desu," Su explained.

"I felt it too, nya. When I was coming into this classroom, nya."

"Eh? Really?" Ran demanded, wondering why she can't sense anything.

"Then it _is_ someone from this class," Dia said. "Amu-chan, why do you think they aren't introducing themselves to us then?"

"Maybe because Amu is getting bullied and they don't want to go near her," Miki said.

Amu, who was trying very hard to ignore her charas, sweat dropped and became depressed.

"Ah…" Miki realised her mistake at once. "I-I was just joking!" she forced a laugh.

"But… do you think they can see us right now?" Ran wondered, glancing around the class.

"Maybe, nya," Yoru shrugged.

Amu scribbled, "_Ah! I can't concentrate at all! Go away!_"

"Ahaha, sorry," Ran apologized.

When the bell for lunch-break rang, Amu got out of her seat to look for Ikuto. They needed to discuss about this new shugo chara. But Yuki stopped her at the door.

"Tsukiyomi-san! Where are you going?" she asked in an innocent voice. **(Remember, Amu is Ikuto's sister so they have to have the same last name)**. "Are you going to bother Ikuto-kun again?"

"How do you know his name?" Amu asked. Just a day ago, she didn't know anything about him.

"I know a lot of things," she smiled.

As much as Amu hated to admit it, Yuki was really pretty. She had fair-skin, a round face, framed with silky, blonde hair and a round, glossy pair of sky-blue eyes. Her figure was curvy and she had long legs and arms, fit for a model. A flawless person… with a bad attitude.

"I understand that he's your brother," she continued. "but can you not bother him with trivial matters? Just because you're bored here doesn't mean that you can go and make _his_ school-life miserable as well."

Amu couldn't respond. She couldn't tell her that it wasn't a trivial matter. She couldn't tell her about Shugo Charas and she most definitely couldn't tell her that Ikuto wasn't her brother.

"I'm not making his school-life…" Amu started.

"He wouldn't say anything to you, of course," she interrupted slyly. "But I overheard him talking just then. He was telling his friends how it annoys him to have to look after you all the time. He says that you're a nuisance."

"I-Is that so?" Amu's heart throbbed painfully. She couldn't deny it, because it could be true. Ikuto was always having to save her, maybe he's tired of it.

"Poor you," Yuki stroked Amu's pink hair gently. _"Someone like you should just disappear. Nobody wants you around. Not even your own brother. _Must be hard, to live with such an uncaring person._"_

Amu slapped her hand away, a reaction to her harsh words. "Don't talk bad about Ikuto!" she shouted. "He's not an uncaring person!"

Her charas grinned, glad to see Amu fighting back and standing on her own two feet. "Amu-chan!"

Yuki was surprised by her words, and even more when she pushed past her and ran out of the class.

"Tch. That girl. I didn't think she would talk back…" Yuki said to herself.

Her legs carried her as fast as they could up the flight of stairs and to the rooftop, where Ikuto was.

_Ikuto…! He isn't like that. _She convinced herself as she continued running.

On the way, she saw blue hair and realised that it was Ikuto in the hallway.

"Ikuto…" she started and paused when she saw that someone else was with him. A senior boy with black hair. Probably from his class. They were leaning against the wall while Ikuto gazed out the window.

"She must be really annoying, huh?" the boy was saying.

"Yeah," Ikuto replied.

"Wow, why would anyone take care of a sister like that?"

"I don't want to either…" he said.

Amu took a step back. Sister… he had said. Ikuto had agreed that she was annoying as well. Why? Was she annoying? Maybe what Yuki said really _was_ true.

Her eyes stung, her heart ached, her head swirled.

_Why? _She had thought that Ikuto was a good person. That maybe Ikuto wasn't so bad after all. So after spending three days with her, he was already annoyed?

She rubbed her eyes and ran back down the stairs. Fine. She wouldn't bother him anymore if that's what he wants.

"_Someone like you should just disappear. Nobody wants you around."_ Amu began to believe those ill-spoken words.

"Amu-chan!" her charas flew after her, but it was too late. Their eggs appeared and closed them within. "Amu-chan!" the shouted for help, pleading, begging. But Amu was gone. She didn't hear them. The eggs shut and a white x appeared on each of them.

**End of Chapter 3**

**Finally, I'm almost done with one problem. When I planned this, it was supposed to go differently though. ^_^ Oh well, what's done is done and I've poured my heart into this… sort of. Thank you for reading! Please review! Am I doing something totally wrong?**

**Remember, it's not good to believe the words of the bullies! Don't let your heart's egg become an x-egg! **

**Minna no Kokoro: Unlock! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**ANOTHER AMUTO STORY**

**Wow, I'm so happy that I get reviews within an hour of updating! Thanks so much. You guys support me. Thank you for the name suggestions, Guoste-chan. And I hope you and Yuki-chan don't mind me using your names. :3 **

**Seriously, thanks to everyone reading this- no matter _when_ you're reading this.**

By the time Amu looked back, they were gone. Nowhere to be seen.

"Ran?" she called. "Miki? Su? Dia?"

That's strange. She was sure that they had been right behind her. The pink-haired girl had forced her legs to carry her as fast as they could with no destination in mind. When she became aware of her surroundings, she was already at the entrance of the school building. What was she doing? Trying to escape? That wasn't possible with all the witnesses around. Besides, she would have to explain to Ikuto later.

Amu gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. _I don't want to go back._ _I don't want to see anyone._

There was one efficient way to do that, and Amu was well aware of it.

She knocked on the door three times and poked her head into the room, which was mainly empty except for a woman at a desk and a boy with a bleeding gash across his knee.

"Is there something wrong?" the brown-haired woman asked Amu.

"Um… I don't feel so good. Can I please rest for a while?" she asked.

"You don't look so good either," the lady replied. "Sure. Go ahead."

Without replying, Amu trudged over to the single bed with white sheets in the corner of the room, and laid down on it, moaning to make it seem more like she was sick.

She faced the wall and let the tears flow out, careful not to sniff or hiccup. Since she came here, Ikuto was her one support… and now he can't even be that. What was she going to do about the bullying now? Who was she going to turn to? But on the other hand, another part of her was thinking about her Shugo Charas. Where _were _they? Why didn't they follow her? Were they alright?

Her mind full of troublesome thoughts, her consciousness slipped away.

Amu became aware of the presence of someone near her. She groaned due to the throbbing pain in the side of her head, but didn't open her eyes to see who the person was.

"Why were you crying?" a troubled voice asked. It was too quiet for a question, although it sounded like it was directed at her. She recognized that voice. Tsukiyomi Ikuto.

"Were you being bullied again? Will you never confront me about these things?" the voice continued, even though he was not expecting an answer from her.

Before she could respond to the questions, or the voice, her hazy mind forced her to fall asleep again. _It would get rid of the pain,_ it concluded.

The next time she awoke, the pain in her head had reduced, but it still throbbed. She groaned and raised her hand to her head.

"Are you feeling better now? Amu-chan?"

Amu forced her eyes open to gaze up at the school nurse, and nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

She sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. We weren't sure when you would wake up at all."

"Ah, what time is it?" Amu asked, looking around for her Shugo Charas, but failing to find them.

"It's five-thirty. School's already over."

"Oh." _Where are the girls?_ "Thank you. I'll be going now."

She smiled at the nurse and slipped out of the room. "I wonder if Ikuto went home…" she thought sadly. _Maybe he didn't even know that I was here._

"Slash Claw!"

She paused. That was Ikuto just then, wasn't it? In a character transformation with Yoru. Amu looked out the nearest window and saw Ikuto fighting multiple x-eggs by himself. He jumped from place to place, dodging the attacks of the eggs while gathering them into one place to capture them. Without thinking about it, she ran out into the field where they were fighting.

"Amu!" Black Lynx, quick on his feet, managed to tackle Amu out of the way when one of the eggs attacked her with their black energy. "It's dangerous for you without your shugo charas!"

The girl glanced at the eggs- four of them were the cause of a riot. But then she saw that they weren't normal x-eggs. They were someone's shugo chara eggs. Although faint, there was definitely a pattern beneath the dark covering. She gasped when she grasped that it was _her_ shugo chara eggs that had changed.

"Ran!" she cried. "Miki! Su! Dia!"

"Amu!" Ikuto called her name to calm her down. He was carrying her bridal style to avoid having neither of them hit.

"Why? Why are you guys…?" Tears welled up in her golden eyes as she forced herself to keep her eyes on the eggs attacking them.

Ikuto held her closer as he leaped into the air once more and fled from the battle scene.

Amu hated herself more than ever. She had relied on Ikuto once more- and this time _all four eggs_ had an x on them. Ikuto had brought her home safely, but Amu was in a state of an aftershock.

"Why are you worried?" Ikuto asked.

Tear drops started falling from her face as she was looking down. "Because… because everyone didn't like me, I was confused. What did I do wrong on my first day? Why are bullies targeting _me_? And why is it that I'm not strong enough to hold up on my own? Yuki… told me that I was annoying you because you always had to keep saving me. And that I… should just disappear. Then I started wondering if it was true…"

She was interrupted when Ikuto unexpectedly embraced her in a tight hug.

"I-Ikuto?"

"It's not true."

Her eyes widened as she became aware of what he was trying to say. Then she blushed and pushed him off. "W-What are doing, perverted cat?"

Ikuto smirked, back to his usual teasing self. "I'd be troubled if you were to disappear."

"G-Geez, saying stuff like that again," she crossed her arms. "But… I'll try my best then."

"Good morning, Tsukiyomi-san," a cheery girl greeted her as she entered the classroom.

Amu stared at her. "G-G-Good morning," she stumbled, earning a giggle from the girl.

"Neko-chan, be careful," her friends warned. "She was being bullied by Yuki."

The girl looked at Amu and smiled wider. "She's so cute though. She's harmless."

Amu went to her seat and sat down. Did someone just talk to her- without meaning to offend her?

Maybe things might be able to work out after all.

At lunch break, Ikuto came by and took Amu egg-hunting with him.

"Amu," Ikuto called, parting some bushes. "Come here."

Four brightly coloured eggs were snuggled under the thick leaves. Amu gasped. Her eggs were back to normal. She gathered them up into her school-bag. Even though they no longer had an x on it, the Shugo Charas were still stuck inside.

"Just a little more," she whispered to her eggs. "I'll get you guys out again."

After lunch-break, the class teacher told the class to get into groups of four. Amu sighed, thinking that she was going to be alone again. But surprisingly, Neko-chan walked up to her.

"Do you want to be in our group, Tsukiyomi-san?"

Amu gazed up at the kind girl. "Really?"

"Sure. We need one more person," Neko-chan's friends also beckoned her to come.

Amu's spirits lifted. People were talking to her for once. She was almost making friends. Inside her bag, her eggs moved, cracked and the shugo charas popped out.

"Amu-chan!" they grinned, happy to be back.

From the other corner where no-one was paying attention, Yuki glared at Amu and her charas in distaste.

**End of Chapter 4. But of course, it's not the end of the story. Another thing, I may not update until Saturday because I have a pile of homework to attend to that are due soon. -.-**

**I'm sorry my story was so badly written. And thank you so much for reading! ^_^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**ANOTHER AMUTO STORY**

**Yo! And thanks to everyone who reviewed. Keep reviewing because it's my motivational support! So… I want to do something for you guys, but I don't know what to do. Hmm… any suggestions? **

"Hey, Ikuto-kun." The pretty senior girl tucked a strand of her black hair behind her ear and smiled at the blue-haired boy from her class. "Come on a group date with us."

Ikuto lazily stared out the window, oblivious to the girl who was trying to win his attention.

"My friend really likes you," she told him. "She liked you from when you held that violin concert a year ago."

**(A/N: When he was being controlled by Easter in the anime)**

His eyes flickered away from the window and seemed to look at the girl for the first time. Hana Akira- one of the most popular girls in the school. She was perched on his table in a familiar manner, with her short skirt almost too revealing and her long legs crossed. Her black hair started out straight, and then ended in soft curls that fell to her back.

"I'm not interested," he said bluntly.

She pouted. "Please?"

Ikuto returned to gazing back out the window, bored, and wondered what Amu was doing.

"Eh? Ikuto's getting love-letters?" Amu couldn't believe her ears.

The cat chara floated lazily a few feet in front of her with his paws behind his head. "Yeah-nya. So annoying. Ikuto's been turning all of them down, though, nya."

"Wow. Ikuto must be really popular," Ran noted.

"A natural playboy," Miki agreed. "… But still, to be that popular in a few days…"

"He's more popular than Amu-chan as a guardian, desu!" Su thought aloud.

Amu glared at her Shugo Charas. She knew that she wasn't popular already. But she didn't really mind now that some more people has started talking to her. Plus Yuki had started to bully her less, although she didn't act sociable towards her either. She smiled thoughtfully as she finished her homework, and her charas, guessing that she was happy, smiled as well.

"Wow," Amu said. "You really do get love-notes in your locker."

Ikuto turned around. "Amu?"

She grinned. "I was just passing by" – she eyed the pink-coloured paper in Ikuto's hand- "who's that from?"

"No-one," he replied, crushing the paper into a crumpled ball.

"Hey, aren't you going to return her feelings?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

Yoru flew up to her. "Don't you get it-nya? Ikuto already has someone he-"

The cat chara was stopped when his master got hold of him. "Yoru…"

"Sorry-nya," he apologized sheepishly.

Amu stared at him suspiciously. "Already has what?"

Ikuto gazed at her intensely, and then sighed. "Grow up already."

She crossed her arms, puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

While Amu and Ikuto were sharing a conversation, they were unaware of the commotion going on behind them. A group of senior girls watched them with envy.

"Who's that girl?" they whispered. "She's trying to steal Ikuto-sama away. That's so low. What should we do, Akira-sama?"

Akira hesitated. Ikuto hadn't been interested in her, or anyone else from the class. But why is this little girl so special that he would walk with her to class? Was she someone close to him?

"Akira-sama?" her followers, fans of Ikuto, were confused. Why was she not answering them?

"I'll tell you what you should do," another voice declared.

From the shadows, Yuki stepped out gracefully.

"Yuki-san?" Akira asked, surprised.

Yuki was never interested in boys from this school. Not once, has she ever joined her fan-clubs. But now, she was offering to help out with Ikuto?

She smiled at Akira and her followers. "The girl clearly doesn't know her place as a first-year. So you guys should make sure she learns as fast as possible."

"How do we do that?"

"A few methods come to mind," she grinned. "But Akira, what do _you_ suggest?"

Akira bit her lower lip nervously. "Um… she's just a first-year right? She's probably no threat. Besides, Ikuto-sama would be hurt if we do anything to her."

Yuki scoffed. "There's no way a girl like that would get Ikuto-sempai."

In the background, the others started to agree. "That's right. Ikuto-sama is being blackmailed. In that case, we have to save him from her, don't we?"

Akira pondered for a moment. "Is that what you guys want? To teach her a lesson?"

"That's _exactly_, what they want," Yuki replied quietly.

**End of Chapter 5!**

**Poor Amu is getting bullied again. XD It's all evil Yuki's fault. Oh, and I'm not sure if I'll mention this in the story, so if you guys need to know, Yuki's Shugo Chara is born because she wants to be someone… basically perfect. Um, Yuki… feels like that if she's not perfect, then no-one will ever like her, or notice her. Although she may seem like a bully, she's actually got a good reputation around the school. So… yeah.**

**Thank you so much for reading! Your reading gives me the support and motivation! ^.^ Even if you're feeling down today, just remember that because you're reading this, you're making someone happy. :D Although, if you did have a bad day, you probably don't care about making someone on the other side of the world happy. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**ANOTHER AMUTO STORY**

**Sorry the last chapter was kind of short. I wanted to insert a cliff hanger :D So anyway… continuing on with the story.**

Amu placed her bag on her school desk, getting ready for another day of school. Although the verbal bullying from Yuki has stopped, not many students still approached her, but some were nice enough to sometimes start a short conversation with her. At breaks, she would spend most of her time on the roof with Ikuto.

"Hinamori?"

Amu turned around at the sound of her last name reflexively. Was she already found out? Two of her classmates were talking nearby, and Amu eavesdropped on them.

"Oh, you mean that housewife magazine by Hinamori-san?" the other girl asked. "My mother reads that too."

The pink haired girl sighed in relief. They were just talking about her mother's magazine.

"Ah, Tsukiyomi-san!" one of them met her eye and smiled, walking over. "Do you know about Hinamori-san's magazine?"

Amu pretended to think. "Um, that's for… um, housewives isn't it?"

"Yup. And did you know, she has two daughters."

"O-Oh, does she?" Amu was getting more nervous by the second.

"Hinamori-Ami is the younger one, and Hinamori-Amu is the older girl. She has the same first name as you, Tsukiyomi-san."

Amu forced a laugh. "What a coincidence…"

She sighed in relief after the two girls retreated back to their seats. Of course, there was no-way someone could know about her after all.

"Huh?" she wondered as she peeked into the drawer under her desk. It looked like there were some crumpled paper stored in there that she wasn't aware about. She drew one out and smoothened it out to read the message.

"Idiot. Go away and never come back, you witch!" it said. The message wasn't addressed to anyone, nor has anyone signed it. But Amu suddenly got the feeling that she was starting to get bullied again. Not resisting the temptation, she drew out another paper and read the message that no-one signed. The hand-writings were not the same, so they couldn't have been Yuki's plot again.

"A-Amu-chan…" Ran was reading the notes with her.

"Who would do such a thing to Amu-chan, desu!" Su wailed.

She whispered, "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"Amu-chan, did you do something?" Miki questioned.

"I didn't!"

She couldn't bring herself to tell Ikuto about it. She couldn't keep getting in trouble like this- or else she'd be a burden to Ikuto. They didn't even have a lead about who was creating x-eggs.

"What's wrong?" the blue-haired boy asked.

Amu blinked. "Nothing! Why would you even think that?"

"You've been thinking about something the whole time," he replied. "I can see it in your eyes."

"M-My eyes?"

Ikuto shifted closer to her. "You're not telling me something."

"A-Are you an idiot? I have nothing to hide from you," she stood up. "I'm going."

Ikuto and Yoru watched Amu and her charas run off.

"It's so obvious that she's hiding something-nya," Yoru mumbled.

Amu slowed down as she exited the school building, hoping that Ikuto didn't find her earlier behaviour suspicious.

"That was close," she sighed.

As two senior girls walked past, they purposefully bumped into Amu and complained.

"Ow, watch where you're going."

"Um, s-sorry," Amu apologized automatically.

They scoffed. "Juniors should know their place in school."

"Huh?" Amu wondered as they went on their way. "What was _that_ about?"

"Tsukiyomi-san," Yuki called her after school.

Amu answered. "Yes?"

"I found this in the halls today." Yuki presented to Amu, her note-book, which had rude words written in marker all over it- even the inside pages.

"…Thanks."

"It looks like you're having some trouble."

_Was she just playing dumb?_ "Yeah… a little." She went back to her desk.

"Is Ikuto-kun doing anything about it?" Yuki followed after her.

Amu whipped around. "Don't tell him anything about it!"

Yuki put up a sincerely surprised face. "Why not?"

"Um… I just don't want to rely on him too much," she replied. "So please don't."

"Okay. I promise," she smiled reassuringly.

Amu stared in amazement. Compared to when she first came here, Yuki was like a different person now. But it could just be acting.

"Oh, and Tsukiyomi-san?" Yuki added just as she was about to step out of the classroom. "I'm sorry for not being friendly towards you when you first came here."

Amu grinned. "It's alright." _Maybe people can change after all._ "Just don't tell Ikuto!"

"I won't. Bye!" Yuki waved.

As soon as Amu was out of sight, she sneered. "Idiot."

Ikuto gazed at Amu, thinking. They were on the rooftop at lunch again. There _was _something she decisively hid from him- he knew that much. But why was it that she refused to tell him about it?

-Flashback-

The day was coming to an end, and Ikuto was on his way to the school-gates to wait for Amu when someone called his name.

He stopped and glanced back to see a younger girl running towards him, her blonde curls flying in the wind. She stopped a few metres away, trying to catching her breath, and looked up at him with bewildered eyes.

"Amu-chan is having trouble in school," she informed him.

"Trouble?" Ikuto became alerted at the mention of Amu's name.

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you any more than that," she said sheepishly.

"Why not?"

"I promised Amu-chan I wouldn't," she explained.

"_Amu_ made you promise?"

"She said that…" Yuki trailed off. "That… you were unreliable."

Ikuto sighed. So she was hiding things from him because she thought that she couldn't rely on him. _Amu… just what are you thinking?_

-End of flashback-

"W-What?" Amu demanded, looking up from her bento, questioning Ikuto's stare.

He sighed and rested his head on his arms, which was wounded on his knee.

Amu was very puzzled by this reaction. "Ikuto…? Aren't you going to eat your lunch?"

"Don't need it."

"What's with that attitude?" she muttered.

"Well, he _is_ a cat, after all," Ran pointed out.

"His mood changes at the flick of the tail," Miki added.

**Hm… I'm not really sure where this is going now. Sometimes, I think my hands just type on their own and I'm thinking about something else. Maybe that's why my stories are so bad. -.-**

**Anyway, thanks for reading. In the next chapter, I'll probably resolve this whole problem. Then we can get on to solving who the culprit is. Actually, there's one little surprise before that. An Amuto surprise. :D**

**Please continue to support me! Thanks for the reviews, and for reading, and for submitting my story to the story alert or the favourites. :DD **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

**Wow! It's already chapter 7! What a short journey it seemed like. :D Thanks so much for reading the pathetic excuses of a story that I write. XD Well, I'm just a kid, so don't expect so much from me, okay? Oh, and how do you separate your texts into paragraphs? Every time I upload them, they turn back into being one long paragraph. **

The "Tsukiyomi siblings" were walking to school together with their Shugo Charas alongside them when Amu realized that Ikuto was being quiet- even more so than usual.

"What's wrong, Ikuto?" she asked.

"You…" he said, looking at her. "Are you hiding something from me?"

Amu flinched. "W-What are you saying? Out of the blue…" she didn't want to admit that she _was_.

Ikuto took a step towards her, holding her eye-contact. "Could it be that you're having trouble in school and you didn't want to tell me?"

Amu blushed. _Crap! How did he find out?_

**(A/N: Wait… does Amu say Crap or was that from another anime?)**

"What are you hiding from me… Amu?"

"A-Amu-chan!" Ran piped up.

"I sense an x-egg!" Miki exclaimed.

"T-That's right, desu!" Su agreed in a hurry.

Dia looked confused. "I don't sense—"

"R-Really?" Amu interrupted urgently. "Let's go!"

The five of them ran off eagerly, leaving Ikuto and Yoru behind as usual.

"There's no x-egg, nya," Yoru informed Ikuto, who had already figured it.

Amu and her charas sighed with relief as they entered the classroom.

"Nice save, Miki!" Ran grinned.

"Sorry for tricking you!" Su apologized to Ikuto and Yoru who couldn't hear them.

Miki looked around. "Where's Dia?"

"Eh? I'm sure she was with us just a second ago," Amu said. But the yellow chara was nowhere to be seen.

"Dia?" her charas called. "Are you here?"

Amu nervously sat down in her assigned seat by the window. "Do you think she's turned into an x-egg like you guys did before?"

"Were you feeling down again, Amu-chan?" Su asked.

"Not exactly. I don't get why I'm being bullied, but I've gotten to know the classmates a bit more, and yesterday, Yuki was being nice to me, and that made me happy…" her smile grew softer. "It also made me happy when Ikuto realized that I was hiding something from him."

"Dia didn't turn into an x-egg, Amu-chan!" Ran promised.

"She's probably just somewhere around here," Miki agreed.

"I'm sure she'll come flying in a minute, desu," Su assured her.

Meanwhile, the yellow, lost chara was wandering around in the school garden.

"Amu-chan?" she called softly. "Ran? Miki? Su?"

"What else should we do to Amu?"

Dia turned at the mention of her owner's name. "Amu-chan…?"

Three older girls were walking past, on their way to their classroom.

"Do you think we're doing the right thing by bullying her?" one of the girls asked nervously.

Her friend scoffed scornfully. "Don't you think that she should know her place? From what I heard, she didn't even have any friends when she transferred here. How could someone like that deserve Ikuto-sama?"

"That's right," the other friend agreed. "She took advantage of Ikuto-sama's kindness. If we don't teach her a lesson, then she'll just keep being close to him."

"But…" the girl hesitated as her friend sighed.

"Look. We're doing this for Ikuto-sama- as simple as that."

"… You're right…"

She smiled, satisfied. "I'm glad you understand."

Dia was hiding in the nearby bushes, shocked. "_They're_ the ones bullying Amu-chan…?

The little yellow chara flew off in a fluster to bring news to her bearer.

"Eh?" Amu blinked at Dia. "They're bullying me because of _that?"_

"I knew he was popular, but… to go to that extent…" Miki mumbled sophisticatedly.

"It seems that we have underestimated Ikuto-kun, desu," Su inserted.

"That's not the point here!" Amu snapped, irritated.

"Amu-chan's right," Dia nodded. "We should be helping Amu-chan with the bullying."

Ran stood on the edge of Amu's desk. "What should we do about it?"

The charas thought together for a moment, sitting in a small circle, while Amu rolled her eyes.

"Can't we just tell them that Ikuto's my brother?"

The four charas looked up at her thoughtfully. All their thoughts were the same.

"That might work."

The next day, the bullying became worse. Amu "lost" the contents of her locker, only to find them dumped in the cafeteria bin- and that was before school. During homeroom period, she found out that the bullies had unkindly written in her books from the bin. When lunch-break finally came, she was exhausted.

"I just want a word with them!" she complained.

"Amu-chan, it's become worse," Ran stated the obvious.

"You should go home and rest up, desu," Su said worriedly.

"I'm fine," Amu insisted stubbornly. "I want to talk to them and clear this up."

"Talk to who?" Ikuto appeared in front of her.

"Ikuto!" Amu jumped back in surprise.

"What were you guys talking about?" he asked.

"N-None of your business!"

Ikuto looked kind of disturbed by Amu's answer. "I came to return something to you."

"Eh? Return something?"

Ikuto held up a notebook with the name T. Amu on it. Amu snatched it out of his hands and flipped through it, only to find that her notes have been ripped out of or scribbled on. She groaned.

"Aww, they got my notebook."

Ikuto arched an eyebrow. "_Who_ got your notebook?"

Amu looked up, regretting the words. "Um, a-a game!"

"That's right! Some girls from the class are playing a game with Amu-chan!" Ran perked up.

"The kind of game that includes stealing her things and seeing if she can find it," Miki lied.

"The unkind, cruel words they've included in there are just a joke, desu!" Su squeezed her eyes shut and lied with all her might. How she hated lying to someone she knew.

Only Dia kept quiet. She wasn't sure what the right thing to do was, anymore. Amu is in trouble. As her Shugo Chara, she _should_ do what's best for her bearer.

"Anyway, since I've found it, I have to go tell them now," Amu finished, stepping away from Ikuto. She knew that the bullying would get even worse if they were to see her with him.

"I'm going to come with you."

Panicked, Amu shoved him away, catching him off-guard. "You can't! Stay away from me!"

"Amu-chan!" her Charas cried after her as Amu sprinted off instinctively.

Ikuto gazed at them as they disappeared, astounded. No matter how much he teased Amu, she'd never treated him like that. Did he do something which truly hurt her?

"Amu-chan, are you alright?" Ran demanded.

The pink-haired girl nodded, out of breath.

"You've been lying too much ever since you came here, desu!" Su griped. "That's not who Amu-chan wants to be! So please stop lying, desu!"

"Su! Don't say that," Miki interrupted. "Amu-chan doesn't want to lie to Ikuto either, but she's doing it so that Ikuto doesn't worry."

Su looked at the ground quietly. "I know that, desu," she said. "But Amu-chan is not following her would-be self…"

"Amu-chan…" Dia began quietly. "… I think you hurt Ikuto's feelings."

Amu was looking down with a pained expression. "I know. I shouldn't lie to him- I know that too. But if this goes on, then Ikuto, and the Guardians won't rely on me anymore. I'm the Joker, and I'm letting them down."

"Amu-chan is a kind person with a good heart," Dia smiled. "But you need to learn to rely on people as well."

"That's right, Amu-chan!" Ran agreed whole-heartedly.

"No-one will think that you can't do your job properly," Miki added.

"Because everyone knows how hard you work, and how much you shine, desu," Su encouraged.

Amu blushed a little out of happiness and smiled. Her phone rang, and Amu took it out.

"_Amu, how's Ikuto? Have you found the culprit yet? Hurry up! So then both of you can come home. I'm trusting you to take care of Ikuto, as my friend. Utau." Is what the text said._

"Even Utau…"

"Amu?"

The heroine looked up, suddenly nervous to see girls surrounding her like a pack of wolves. "Yes?"

"We'd like to have a word with you."

"Amu-chan…" her Shugo Charas closed in together, afraid.

One of the girls, a beautiful brunette, stepped forward, declaring herself the leader of the wolf-pack, and sneered at Amu.

"Do you know what you've been doing wrong?" she demanded.

Amu shrunk into the shadows, feeling alone and vulnerable. "Um…"

"You've been too close to Ikuto-sama!" one of the girls shouted.

Akira flicked her hair back with her long, manicured fingers as she strutted up to Amu. "What's your relationship with him?"

"He's my brother," she announced, which earned her a scoff.

"Do you think we're stupid? He's always looking at you. Why? Why does he refuse to go out with any of us? Because of _you_" – Amu's eyes widened in realization and disbelieve- "Who are you to him?"

"B-But there's really nothing between us," she insisted.

Amu clutched her chest when it throbbed and wondered why it hurt her to say that. Was it because Ikuto really wasn't her brother and she was lying to these girls? No, that wasn't it.

"Stop lying to us! We're warning you. _Don't you dare lay a hand on Ikuto-sama._"

One of the girls raised her hand to slap Amu, who squeezed her eyes shut helplessly. There was a sharp _slap_, but the pain never came.

When Amu opened her eyes, Ikuto was standing in front of her, shielding her from the bullies who retreated at once. His cheek was turned to the girl, and it had a red hand-print on it.

"I-Ikuto-sama!" the girl fell back, horrified that Ikuto had seen the ugly side of her, and also because he was choosing to protect this girl.

"If you ever lay even one of your fingers on Amu, I won't forgive you." Ikuto's eyes became as cold as ice as he glared at the girls with a promising threat.

"But… why?" Akira asked. "Who is she to you, Ikuto-sama?"

Ikuto grabbed Amu's arm and pulled her closer to him. "She's my very special someone."

The girls were perplexed by Ikuto's response, but they knew that Ikuto was in a bad mood right now and quickly vanished from their sight. After the last of them disappeared, he sighed and turned to Amu.

"Are you okay?"

Amu looked up at him with tear-filled, golden eyes and a blush. "Ikuto…" her voice was shaky. "Ikuto!" she cried louder, her tears flowing down her face.

The blue-haired boy put his arms around her and drew her close to him. "You were scared. It's okay now. Everything's fine."

**Oh my gosh. Is this chapter longer than the others? Wow, and sorry it's been kind of long since I last updated. Let me complain once more- It's so hard to write an Amuto story. I mean, I love them, but there's not enough cute, doki-doki moments! . I need more FLUFF! **

**But despite that, thanks for reading my story, man. (yes, I said man) I really appreciate it dude. (yes, I said dude) XD**

**I'm gonna cramp in as much Fluff as I can in the remaining chapters. Geez, why'd I have to keep them in their own character? That's so boring because I suck at making Ikuto tease Amu. Wait, I have a test coming up. Should be studying… -.- **

**Oh well, you guys are more important! ^.^**

**And I still want to do something for you guys, so just PM or review me any suggestions that I should do. Obviously, please let it be something… reasonable, or something. **

**Anyway, see you next time! **


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION

**Is it even possible for Ikuto to get that popular? Anyway, in case you're wondering, there's no more bullying for Amu… I think. Wait, let me check… nope, not that I know of. Ahaha, guess what? In the love calculator- you know, how you can use those free online? I used one for Tsukiyomi Ikuto and Hinamori Amu, and the result was… 97%! YEAH! Then I tried Hotori Tadase and Hinamori Amu, and the result was… about 17%! I laughed. X3 Sorry, to Tadamu fans, but the universe wants Amuto. :3**

**I just **_**had**_** to share it with you guys. Oh, thanks for reading my story! And because I haven't done it in a while- I do not own Shugo Chara, Peach-Pit, or any of the characters… except the ones at school, but let's just say that I don't own them. If I **_**did**_** own Shugo Chara, none of you would be here right now… because no-one would read my Shugo Chara… *depressed* :(**

**I really don't have confidence in myself, do I? -_-**

"Why didn't you tell me about it?" Ikuto asked.

Amu had cried, letting her frustration and emotions out as Ikuto calmly held her in his arms, as a form of comfort, until she settled down. Now they were walking home from school together.

The girl blushed at the memory, but didn't reply.

"Was it because I was unreliable?" he continued pushing for answers.

She hadn't expected that question. "Eh? No, that's not it. Why would you think that?"

"Yuki from your class told me that you said that I was unreliable."

"Eh? Yuki-chan did?" Amu wondered. "No, I never said that to her. I told her that I didn't want to rely on you. I guess she misunderstood."

"I don't think that's it, Amu-chan," Miki disagreed. "I feel like there's something off with her."

"You're such a worrywart, Miki," Ran laughed.

"I am not!" Miki defended herself and the two started their own series of bickering.

Ikuto looked at Amu. "Why didn't you want to rely on me?"

Amu turned back to him. "Oh… um…" a small blush crept across her face. "I- I just didn't want to bother you with my own problems, okay?"

His lips curved into a soft, relieved smile. "Idiot. Your problems _are_ my problems."

She gazed up at him, captivated by his sudden smile and princely words. **(A/N: In other words, you should picture them with the wind blowing and sparkles flying) **

"W-What are you talking about?" she quickly recovered. "And since we're already on the topic, what do you mean by calling me annoying anyway?"

Ikuto looked confused. "I called you annoying?"

**(A/N: IN Chapter 3)**

"Yeah. Before Ran, Miki, Su and Dia turned into x-eggs, I came to talk to you, and I found you talking with a boy from your class by the windows. He asked if _she_ was annoying, and you said yes."

Ikuto thought back and smirked. "You were worried?"

"O-Of course not! Just answer me!" Amu blushed.

Ikuto chuckled. "We weren't talking about you."

"Eh?"

"We were talking about someone else, because from the window, we could see another classmate with his sister. To everyone, she was always bothering him, and that's why they thought she was annoying," he explained.

"O-Oh…" Amu looked down at the ground, embarrassed.

He placed his hand on her head- a comforting gesture. "You don't annoy me at all, so don't worry about it," he said. She looked up, surprised.

"Ikuto…"

"You were worried about something that I said, were you?" he teased.

Amu growled, her eyes narrowing. "Geez, _you're_ the annoying one! What's with the weird line today? "She's my very special someone"? Don't say such misunderstanding things!"

Ikuto laughed.

-The following day-

Amu lifted her strap from above her head and let the shoulder bag drop onto her school desk. Two girls were talking at the desk in front of Amu's.

"Eh? Really? That's so cute!" they squealed. "Oh, Good morning, Tsukiyomi-san!" they smiled when they saw Amu at her desk.

"Good morning," Amu smiled back, glad to have made some female friends. "You can call me Amu."

It was still weird to have people calling her "Tsukiyomi" when it wasn't even her name.

"Then, Amu-chan," the brown-haired girl said. "Call me Haruna."

"And calling me Morgan is fine," the orange-haired girl smiled.

**(A/N: And I continue to steal people's names. Thanks!)**

"Listen, Amu-chan!" Haruna exclaimed excitedly. "Last Friday, Morgan-chan got asked out! It was so cute!"

Morgan took over. "He asked me to come to the gym after school and confessed to me! Of course, I said yes!"

"Really? Congratulations!" Amu grinned.

"Hey, Amu-chan! Have you ever been asked out?" Morgan asked.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Haruna questioned.

"Um… not really…" she admitted.

"Eh? You haven't been kissed before?"

Amu sweat-dropped (or tear-dropped) at their astonished expressions. "No… I haven't."

"Do you have someone you like?"

At once, Ikuto popped into her head. Blushing all of a sudden, she pushed the thought away. "Nope! I don't!"

"I don't believe you!" Haruna stuck her tongue out.

"You blushed, Amu-chan! You were thinking of someone, weren't you?"

"I-I wasn't!" Amu lied.

"Who is it? Does he go to our school?" they squealed enthusiastically.

"I don't have anyone I like!" Amu objected.

The two girls laughed at her. "You should be careful around the one you like- in case something happens."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Like… they might suddenly kiss you! Or confess their love to you!"

"Wouldn't that be so cute?" _

They went on squealing loudly with each other and Amu thought about it for once. Ikuto _does_ hug her suddenly, and say things she can't understand… but that wouldn't really mean that he would actually do something like that… right?

"But Amu-chan probably doesn't have anything to worry about," Morgan said, calming down.

"That's true," Haruna nodded. "Because she doesn't talk with much boys except for Ikuto-sempai."

"Ikuto-sempai is protective of Amu-chan, isn't he?"

"He's such a cool brother!" Haruna grinned. "Did you know that every time Amu is in trouble, he appears and saves her?"

"Some upper-class students were bullying Amu-chan, and Ikuto-sempai actually placed himself between the student and Amu-chan to protect her."

"I know right? He got slapped instead of Amu-chan."

"It would be so cute if he wasn't her brother."

"That's so true!"

Amu sighed. But Ikuto _really_ wasn't her brother. What did that mean?

"Gyaa!" Amu cried when Ikuto breathed on her neck. "Ikuto! What are you doing?"

"It's because you were spacing out again," Ikuto said. "What are you thinking of?"

They were at home now, with both of them on the couch. Ikuto had flipped through the TV channels rapidly, bored, until Amu yelled at him to choose one and stick with it.

Amu looked up at him, with a hint of blush across her face, her eyebrows knitted together as she frowned in frustration. **(A/N: I can imagine that Amu-face. Can't you?) **"N-Nothing."

"Didn't we agree that you wouldn't hide things from me anymore?"

"I'm not having trouble in school," she promised.

Ikuto glanced down at her. "Why are you blushing so much?"

Amu covered her face with her hands. "I-I'm not blushing!"

"Hmm…" Ikuto looked away, letting it go for now. Amu blushed often, but there was something over-exaggerated with this reaction. Not that he wasn't enjoying it though. Her flusters were just so funny and cute.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked warily.

"Just thinking of how cute you are."

"Eh?" Blood rushed up to Amu's face once more.

Ikuto tried to contain his laughter, but a snicker escaped and he covered his mouth.

"Geez!" Amu shouted. "Stop teasing me!"

"I can't help it," Ikuto admitted. "Teasing you sure is worth it."

She crossed her arms and leaned back against the sofa, pouting angrily.

Ikuto yawned for the fifth time at lunch-break. There was nothing to do, and he was sleepy. Still, he couldn't stop wondering why Amu had been so self-conscious yesterday. Could she be growing up, and becoming more conscious of boys? No… that's probably not it.

He stood up, deciding to take a stroll, and left the classroom. On the way, he overheard an interesting conversation between two certain girls in the hallway.

"Amu-chan looked like she got pretty freaked-out when we asked her who she liked," the orange-haired girl was saying. "I bet she has someone in mind. Did you see her face?"

"Yes!" her companion, a brown-haired girl, exclaimed. "But her face was even funnier when we told her to be careful around boys."

"She's really funny."

Ikuto stopped walking as the two girls started going out of hearing-range, and looked out the window. Amu was sitting under a tree with her Shugo Charas, but of course, normal people couldn't see that. He suddenly smirked, comprehending why Amu was being self-conscious.

**Evil Ikuto! Evil! XD So… I guess you can pretty much guess what's going to happen next. Just kidding! You can't! Because I still have something cool for this story at the end of next chapter! :D**

**If you wanna know what it is, you have to stay and watch! Uh- I mean read. **

**Thank you for your support! I'm listening to Blue Moon right now! (You know, by Hoshina Utau) Although I'm not really understanding the lyrics, I get some of the words I've learnt from the anime. (Yes. I don't understand Japanese. Please don't laugh at me)**

**What else was I going to say…? Um. Thanks for sticking with me throughout this story, if you are, and for reviewing, if you have, and for alerting this story/favouriting it/alerting the author (me), if you have. If you haven't… well, there's always time. Ahahah, kidding. You don't have to. I don't hold grudges. **

**Until next time, dudes. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

**Just in case you don't know why I keep writing **_**Another**_** Amuto Fan Fiction, it's because this is actually my third Amuto fan fiction. I never finished the second one, and the first one was "**_**An**_** Amuto Fan Fiction" so this is "**_**Another**_** Amuto Fan Fiction." You get what I'm trying to say? Okay. Well, sometimes, I'll reply to people in reviews, so be sure to check if you say something that I should reply to. And it seems that I've confused some people with my horrible writing. Um, just to clear things up, the bullies were seniors and didn't know that Amu's last name was Tsukiyomi, because you know how Ikuto returned the notebook to her and it only said T. Amu? Her name could've been something else for all they knew. And, plus, Amu really wasn't his sister. I wanted to make her say that, but it wouldn't fit.**

**Oh! And in chapter 7, I intended to make Ikuto say, "She can do whatever she wants" after the bullies said, "Don't you dare lay a hand on Ikuto-sama." But that was for when he caught her hand before she slapped him… but then I thought that I **_**should**_** make her slap him for a more dramatic effect. Then I forgot to put that line in. Not that it matters much, but it would certainly make some people misunderstand. XD**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing and alerting/favouriting! ^.^ I do not own Shugo Chara, or any of this content except for my OCs.**

"I'm home," Amu announced as she closed the door behind her. On the coffee table in front of the running TV, were her three Shugo Charas and Yoru, playing cards. None of them looked up as Ran quickly flew over to join them.

"Yoru, that's not how you play it," Miki was telling him.

The cat chara was staring at his cards intensely, thinking of the best, quickest way to win.

Amu crashed onto the couch, worn out from having to go purify an x-egg with Ran. That egg was hard to catch because it was running around in the middle of the city. Plus she had to do it alone because Ikuto hadn't known about it.

"Where's Ikuto?" she realized that the blue-haired boy was nowhere to be seen.

A pair of hands embraced her from behind, startling her. Of course, it was Ikuto.

"Did you miss me?" he smirked, watching a faint, red streak appear across her round face.

"A-As if!" she objected, trying to straighten out her stammer. "Don't get so full of yourself."

Ikuto cuddled up with her like a cat, sitting next to her on the sofa. "You're so mean."

"H-Hey!" Amu's face was completely red now. "Stop! Don't get so close to me, you perverted cat!"

"It's okay. Just staying like this is fine," he murmured teasingly.

The girl turned away to hide her blood-boiling, crimson face, but didn't respond. Ikuto understood that she allowed him to be this close to her, and as his eyes closed, the corner of his lips curved up in a small, hidden smile.

The pink-haired girl sleepily forced her eyes half-open when a constant ring interrupted her sleep.

"Amu-chan," Ran and Miki brought her phone over. "Your phone is ringing."

She blinked, trying to make sense of her chara's words. Her drowsy brain processed it and she reached out to retrieve her phone. But another hand beat her to it.

"Hello?"

The sudden movement caused Amu to wake up and she turned around to see Ikuto sleeping beside her on the sofa. Oh shoot. They fell asleep together watching that anime! Why didn't her charas wake her up?

"Oh, Tadase…" Ikuto's half-awake voice broke into Amu's thoughts.

"Tadase-kun?" Amu had liked the prince since she transferred to Seiyo Academy, her elementary school. But then she realized that it was nothing more than a childish crush on his prince-like character, which was not his true self. Then Ikuto came into her life. At first, she was reluctant because he was supposed to be her enemy and a pervert, but as time passed, he began to prove himself to her. Saving her whenever she was in trouble, and apologizing in his own special, yet weird, ways when he did something wrong.

As much as she hated to admit it, Ikuto's place in her heart was becoming bigger than anyone's.

"Amu? She was asleep, so I answered the phone for her," Ikuto explained.

"That's not true!" Amu protested.

Ikuto kept the phone to his ear, ignoring Amu. "Oh look, she woke up."

"Hello?" Amu shouted into the receiver when Ikuto tossed the phone to her.

"Amu-chan?" the blond boy's feminine voice answered.

"Tadase-kun? How are you? And everyone?" Amu asked frantically.

"Calm down, Amu-chan. Everyone's doing well."

"Oh."

"Have you found the culprit yet?" Tadase questioned, getting straight to the point.

Amu fiddled nervously. "Um… not really."

Tadase seemed surprised by her answer. "Why not?"

"Well, a lot of things happened, and all. But Miki and Yoru said that there was a presence of another Shugo Chara in school, so that's a good sign."

Ikuto's ears perked up. This was news to him too.

"Really? Who does it belong to?"

"Uh… we don't know. The person isn't comfortable with revealing themselves to us."

"Can you think of anyone who might be the bearer?"

Amu searched through her brain. "Not right now."

"Talk about it with Ikuto-nii-san," Tadase told her. "So you can find the culprit."

"Okay."

"Tadase," Kiseki's authorizing voice could be heard.

"Ah, Amu-chan, I have to go now," he apologized.

"Oh okay…"

"Bye." He sounded like he was smiling.

"Bye," Amu replied before the dial tone sounded.

Ikuto was staring at her when she noticed. "W-What?"

"The presence of a Shugo Chara?"

-Yuki's POV-

**(I wanna throw in Yuki-Guoste moments in too)**

Guoste-chan hovered over her bearer as she watched Yuki finish off her poster for the arts and crafts club. They had asked Yuki to do them a favour, because of her exceptional skills in the arts and craft area.

"Hey, Yuki-chan," the blonde chara began. "What should we do to Tsukiyomi-Amu? She always seems to bounce back up no matter how hard we push her down."

Yuki continued to work over her artwork. "Hmm…"

"Maybe we should change targets. The source of Amu's encouragement. We thought it was her Shugo Charas, so we tried to seal them up. But that didn't work. Because we overlooked Tsukiyomi Ikuto. We hadn't realized his importance to her back then. So, what I'm saying is, that we should change our target to Ikuto. If Ikuto goes, Amu goes."

Yuki removed the tip of her paintbrush from the paper. "Nope. That won't work."

"Giving up so fast?" Guoste-chan was shocked.

"Not giving up," Yuki shook her head and smiled up at her chara. "Just resting for a while. So that we're out of their suspicion. You'd better lay low too, Guoste-chan. They can sense you."

Guoste-chan grinned. "You can count on me."

-Amu's POV-

Ikuto leaned back against the sofa. "Oh, so there _is_ someone else in school."

Amu and Yoru had just finished telling Ikuto about the presence of another Chara.

"Who do you think it is?" Amu asked curiously. It had completely slipped her mind after her charas became x-eggs. Ikuto might have more insight to this matter-at-hand.

He shrugged. "Beats me. It's from your class, right?"

Amu pondered for a second, then began reciting anybody who might be somebody. But before she could state names, Ikuto sighed. "It's no use. We'll have to actually investigate at school."

She didn't argue. Yuki may be at the top of the list, but there's really no proof- especially because the girl called her weird for talking to herself on her first day of school. If she could see Shugo Charas, she wouldn't pick on her, right?

_Well, whatever._ She decided. _We'll just have to go to school and see._

**End of Chapter 9**

**I'm trying to stop at around 1, 500 words, but if you guys don't mind me writing longer, do tell. Or if you want my chapters to be shorter, then tell me too. I'll try to work it out. Or you know, if you like this as it is. And what else…? Hm, Oh yeah. This might be one of the worst chapters I've ever written. No joke. Then again, the others might be pretty bad too. I wrote this while I was being distracted. -.- not that I write that fast. I mean like, some parts I was distracted, some parts I weren't. I'll cramp more FLUFF in! Or at least try. The fluff in this chapter was probably when Ikuto smiled while on the sofa. Can you see it? It's like, Ikuto was thinking of how Amu seemed to have accepted him and he was happy because of that. I wanted it to be cute, but I'm still a kid and my vocabulary is limited. Still, I hope it was cute enough. Oh, maybe this will make it cuter. Visualize Ikuto actually being awake, and when Amu falls asleep, he just secretly smiles and sleeps too. Well… in my head, that's cute. So whatever! **

**Kidding. Thank you for reading, coz I know you did. :D Until next time, and I sure hope you stick around.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

**Once again, I've uploaded another chapter. Of course, it's thanks to you guys who've supported me and everything. So… thank you.**

"Wake up, my princess."

Those were the words that woke our heroine up from her peaceful slumber that morning. Her eyelids lifted to reveal the sleepy golden orbs underneath.

Ikuto thought about it. "That's a little out of my character…" he muttered to himself.

When he looked down again, Amu was staring up at him, although half-asleep. It took her less than a minute to realize that Ikuto was sleeping in her bed yet again.

"Ikuto!" she exclaimed, jerking upright.

"Yo. Morning," he smirked, enjoying every minute of her outrage.

-Several minutes later-

"How many times must I tell you?" Amu was _still_ going on about it. "Don't sleep in my bed."

"I'm lonely by myself," Ikuto said pitifully. "Do you want me to be a lone cat?"

"I don't care!" she shouted at him, furious, yet at the same time knowing that Ikuto was _actually_ enjoying this right now. No matter what she yelled at him, he wouldn't care because he'd know that she was just saying that out of embarrassment. And that really got on her nerves. Why must he see through her so easily?

She huffed all the way to school, calming down only when Ikuto stopped walking so close to her and started talking about who the culprit was.

"The culprit…?" Amu wondered aloud. "I wonder who that is."

Her Charas were flying alongside her, also thinking. "But, Amu-chan," Ran said. "How do we know that the person who's making the x-eggs are actually the one who has the Shugo Chara?"

"There's too much coincidence, isn't there?" she replied.

"But we still shouldn't judge too rationally," Miki warned.

Su didn't agree. "Bad people, we must punish. It's bad to make x out of children's dreams, desu."

"It's wrong," Amu allowed. "But there must be a reason for why they're doing this."

"That's right!" Ran grinned. "Don't judge people!"

"Even if they're doing something unforgivable," Miki added.

"Because they could be doing it for a reason, desu," Su smiled, proud of her bearer.

"So you should always hear them out first," Dia finished.

Amu smiled back at them, forgetting that Ikuto and Yoru were walking with them until Ikuto spoke. "Who's on the list of possibilities?" he wondered.

She admitted guiltily, "Yuki-chan. Or one of the seniors who bullied me."

"I doubt they're in my class." Ikuto looked at Yoru for answers.

"I definitely sensed it in Amu's class, nya," replied the chara.

"Okay. We'll start the search in my class."

Ran: And school ended just like that!

-After School-

Amu and Ikuto were on their way back home, without any luck to find the culprit. They searched every bag, and kept a close eye on all of the classmates, but none of them seem to be in contact with their would-be selves. Ikuto didn't really mind that much, while Amu was absolutely dejected.

"We'll try again tomorrow, Amu-chan," her Charas tried to comfort her.

She just sighed. "Okay."

A group of females caught her attention because they were gazing at her. It was the same people who were bullying her before. She cringed closer to Ikuto, afraid.

Part of her wanted to hide behind Ikuto and rely on him.

Another part wanted to run away from Ikuto to escape the vile, jealous thoughts from them.

However, Ikuto didn't give her much of a choice. He had also noticed the girls, and was acting oblivious towards them. But when he saw how scared Amu was looking, he took her hand ever so casually, and led her out of the school grounds.

People's eyes followed like hawks, and Amu thought, _There are going to be a lot of rumours now._ Still, it was somewhat of a relief. That when she realized Ikuto was beside her, all her fears melted away. _That's right. With Ikuto here, I don't have to be afraid anymore._ She thought, gripping his hand.

-At home-

"Phew, that was scary," said Amu. "They still hate me for sure. They just won't listen when I tell them that Ikuto's my brother!"

"You can't blame them," Ran pointed out. "Amu-chan really _isn't_ Ikuto's sister after all."

"I bet they won't believe me if I tell them that his real sister is actually _Hoshina Utau."_

Her charas laughed. "That would really shock them. The famous singer- Ikuto's sister, and Amu's close friend."

"It's not that unbelievable," Amu said, a little offended. "I was cool in elementary school too."

"Still, I wonder how they knew that you really weren't Ikuto's sister," Miki thought, holding her chin with her tiny, pale hand with the other hand tucked under the elbow.

"They mentioned how Ikuto was refusing to go out with anyone and kept looking only at Amu-chan," Ran said bluntly.

"That means Ikuto-kun only wants to go out with Amu-chan, desu," Su added innocently.

Amu blushed furiously and glared at her charas. "G-Guys, don't say stuff like that when they aren't even true!"

"Amu-chan's so slow!" the pink chara teased.

Ikuto yawned, like this conversation wasn't centred around him and Amu.

"Ikuto, you help too!" the girl shouted.

However, she regretted her words when the boy replied, "Why?"

"E-Eh? But Ran and the others are saying that… you love me… and stuff…" her voice grew quieter.

He gazed at her with eyes that seem to be accepting it. "So?"

At first, those words caused her to blush more. Was this his way of confessing…? She stared back at him, unable to answer. Her mouth was closed without a response while her mind thought. But..! _Ikuto_ wouldn't confess to _her._ It was probably more of his jokes. Yeah. That must be it!

"It's not funny," she spoke slowly, thinking over her words. "They shouldn't say that you love me when you obviously don't."

Quick as an alley cat, Ikuto stepped lightly over to her, so close that their faces were only inches away. "What's wrong with me loving you, Amu?"

Amu's heart pounded painfully in her chest. She closed her eyes and swallowed, wishing that Ikuto wouldn't hear it. Was he teasing her still?

"D-Don't," Amu shoved her hands outwards to create space between the blue-haired boy and herself. "This is going too far!"

The door closed with a loud _bang!_ as she escaped into her room. Ikuto sighed, plopping himself down on the couch.

"Maybe I _did _take things too far… scaring her like that…" he said quietly, frustrated.

End of Chapter 10!

**Somehow, I want to laugh at that scene just then. Amu's clueless, but she's very… embarrassed. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

**Wondering if I should make Ikuto confess in this chapter, and then deciding agaisnt it. It's going to come back to bite me later on when I have no idea how to make Ikuto confess. -.-**

**-Amu's POV-**

Doki-Doki…

In the quiet room, only the heavy breathing and the loud thumping of the heart could be heard as the pink-haired girl hugged a pillow, burying her flushed face in it.

"Ikuto you idiot…" she whispered into the pillow.

The perverted cat was constantly teasing her- saying all kinds of things and making her think all kinds of things. But that was more abnormal than usual. Ikuto seemed almost… desperate to tell her something. Those blue eyes that were more than often gentle and soft when he set eyes on her were anxious and concerned… like he was internally making a life or death decision. Amu's heart sped up dangerously as she thought about him again.

_Why?_ Why was her heart pounding like this? Ikuto frequently teased her- it was pretty much a habit already. Yet, she had never reacted in this fashion. Maybe because something in his eyes sparked, and she almost believed him for a second there.

Tears welled up in her round eyes and her vision became blurry. Her hands hurriedly wiped them away. Why was she crying? Had she _wanted_ him to confess? Why? The emotions built up inside of her until she herself could no longer understand what they were trying to say.

Gritting her teeth, the girl hurled the pillow down with great force. "So annoying!"

The following day, Ikuto was acting completely normal. To him, nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Amu bit her lip. So it _was_ just another of his idea of a joke.

"Is something wrong, Amu?" he asked. "You look kind of down."

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

The boy didn't believe her, but he stopped questioning her then. Obviously, she didn't want to tell him.

-Ikuto's POV-

What was _up _with him? Since yesterday, there had been a constant nagging feeling in him. Sort of like he was becoming impatient. But impatient at _what?_

"Hey Ikuto, could you help me with this math problem?" one of his classmates asked as he walked over to Ikuto's desk. The boy stopped abruptly when he was responded with a cold glare. "Um, maybe later." Changing his mind, he scurried back to his seat before Ikuto could unleash his rage.

The blue-haired boy let his breath out as he returned back to staring out the window. Why does Amu have to be so slow? How many clues has he given her? But he couldn't just come out and say it. She wasn't ready for a relationship yet. And he couldn't push her until she was.

Somehow, that made him very irritated. It was so close yesterday. He almost said it. Luckily, he managed to calm down overnight, and now she thinks that he was just messing around like usual.

And yet, knowing that… why did her eyes, generally so radiant and bright, look kind of sad and distant today? Normally, Ikuto could figure her out, and she's shown him the different sides of her. Why does today have to be any exception?

That girl… what is she _really_ thinking?

-Yuki's POV-

"Tsukiyomi-san!" Yuki grinned, skipping over to the pink-haired girl's desk. "What's up?"

"What the hell is his problem?" Amu burst unexpectedly.

Yuki blinked, her perfect face frowning in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Finally, the girl heard her and looked up, surprised. "Yuki?"

The blonde stared back, trying to figure out what she was talking about. Then her eyes brightened and she snapped her fingers. "Ah, something happened between Ikuto-sempai and you?"

Amu wore an astonished expression. "How did you know? Are you physic?"

Yuki smirked, beaming with pride. "Don't underestimate me, Tsukiyomi Amu."

"Um, calling me just Amu is fine."

"Huh? But we're not close enough to be calling each other so familiarly," she objected.

"I don't mind. Besides, I don't know your last name so calling you Yuki is fine too, right?" Amu smiled cheerfully.

Yuki looked kind of embarrassed. Why was this girl being so nice to her when she created trouble for her when she first arrived? Was she just stupid? Did she think that everything will be fine because she pasted on a stupid smile on her face?

"Don't be stupid. We're not even friendly with each other," Yuki stammered, crossing her arms. "And it's really rude to not know your own classmate's name."

"S-Sorry," Amu started.

"But," Yuki interrupted quickly. "But… since you don't know, it can't be helped. Guess you have to call me by my first name after all."

Amu's (open-mouthed) smile grew wider in sync with her eyes. "Yuki…"

"But that's that, okay? Don't act all friendly with me when you don't even know me."

"I won't," she promised.

Yuki was starting to feel friendly with Amu, and she didn't like it, so she quickly paced out of the classroom. As soon as Amu was out of sight, Guoste-chan appeared from behind her shoulder.

"Yuki-chan, Amu-chan is a nice girl, isn't she?" the chara smiled.

"I'm never going to be friends with Amu," her bearer replied stubbornly.

"But Yuki-chan, you were having fun with her back then, weren't you?"

"D-Don't be stupid, Guoste-chan! Of course not…" Yuki opposed. "She's so annoying and stupid. Besides… we can't ever be friends. _She's_ the one who's been cleansing all my x-eggs. Saving people's dreams… what a joke," she scoffed lightly. "Hinamori Amu."

**(A/N: Ooooh, she knows Amu's real name! O_O)**

-Amu's POV-

"Yuki-chan was nice today, wasn't she?" Ran asked.

"Yeah," Amu replied, walking down the street with her charas flying beside her.

"She looked embarrassed when you asked if you could call her by her first name though," Su said.

"Yeah," Amu smiled again.

"Maybe you two can become friends," Miki suggested. "A friend who doesn't know about your Shugo Charas. You don't have much of those."

"Yeah," she said again.

Dia, who was quietly observing them, smiled at her bearer. "Amu-chan seems to be happy."

"…Yeah."

"You didn't wait for your onii-chan after school," Ikuto's arm found its way around Amu's shoulders and yanked her tightly.

"I-Ikuto! What are you-? People can still see us! Let go!" Amu flustered, flailing her arms around.

"Nope." Ikuto started walking, dragging the pink-haired girl along, ignoring her complaints.

"Geez, why do you always walk home with me anyway? Don't you have anything else to do after school?" She had given up getting out of his grip. Ikuto wasn't going to loosen up or release her.

"Hm… but there's nothing I want to do more than spend time with you."

Amu blushed, frowning. There he goes, teasing her again. Twisting her words and using it against her. Making her blush and her heart beat faster, and yet not meaning a word he's saying.

"I-Idiot…" she mumbled, but he still heard it- although he wasn't quite sure exactly what he meant by that.

The boy set her down as their small apartment came into view, and unlocked the door.

**(A/N: What the heck. I Can't remember if I gave them an apartment or a house. Let's go with an apartment. Sorry if I already wrote house)**

"Amu," Ikuto said as she was about to go into her room.

"Yes?" she turned back, but by the time she did, Ikuto was right in front of her. She automatically stepped back, only to come up against the wall. _Trapped!_

"W-What?" she demanded, nervously watching his every move.

Ikuto pinned his arm against the wall beside Amu's head, their faces only inches apart. He was keeping a serious and emotionless face, but his eyes betrayed him. They were trying to tell her something. A secret that he desperately wanted to share with her.

"Wh… What is it?" In a way, she sensed that Ikuto wasn't doing this just to tease her even more. Not while wearing an expression as such.

"… I went too far yesterday. Sorry." Was all he said.

She frowned. "There's something else isn't it?"

Surprise flitted across his face. So she had learnt to understand him as well. He smiled a small, irritated smile, and his eyes closed. She was so sly- learning to read the small details, yet it never got across to her that… that he loved her.

"You don't have to be so self-conscious around me. I'm not actually going to do something you'd hate," he said instead.

Amu's eyes became more round as she became aware of what he was telling her. "Y-You knew?"

Ikuto chuckled. "It'd be surprising not to."

She reddened, mortified. "I-If you knew then you shouldn't have teased me about it!" Her eyes diverted to the floor. "B-Besides, it wasn't as if I was scared or anything. I mean, you don't even think about me _that way_, right?"

Ikuto didn't reply. She glanced upwards once more, meeting his penetrating stare.

She stared back.

Just like that, they didn't move. They didn't talk. Ikuto was deep in thought, and Amu was trying to figure out his thoughts. Whatever they were, he was debating within himself.

Finally, he sighed and leaned his head against her shoulder, wrapping his hands around her. Next thing she knew, she was crashing into his chest.

Amu blushed, having Ikuto so close to her made her heart pound. "I-Ikuto? Are you okay?"

"I'm tired…" he replied quietly.

She raised her hand and gently felt his forehead. Her eyes widened in realization. "Ikuto, you have a fever!"

Ta-da! End of Chapter 11

**How nice am I? Arranging an illness to strike so that Amu and Ikuto will have more AMUTO moments! ^.6**

**Keep reading! And as always, thanks! **


	12. Chapter 12

** Chapter 12**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

**Yay! Chapter 12 already! Thanks so much for supporting me throughout this whole thing. I'm still new at fan fiction, so I hope you'll keep supporting me through other Amuto stories too. Yeah, I know. Keep dreaming, right? Ahahah. Seriously, after this chapter, I have to study for tests, and exams. And also, I might not be able to post again until like February, but I'll try to. I'm sorry.**

**RECAP: Ikuto has a fever! Ikuto has a fever! Guess who has to take care of him? (I'm actually singing this line in my head) :3 (It goes, na na na na naaa, na na na naa, you know?)**

By evening, Ikuto had gotten worse- at a temperature of 98o. Amu had made him go to bed. She had to take care of him no matter what.

"Stupid Ikuto. How did you manage to get this sick?" she grumbled, laying a damp towel on his forehead to bring down the temperature.

He was breathing heavily, his face red from the fever, and his eyes were shut although he was awake. Amu knelt down beside the bed, resting her head on the edge. She hated to admit it, but she was worried about this cat. As was Yoru.

"Ikuto! I've brought some catnip, nya!" he said desperately, flapping a catnip in his bearer's face.

"Yoru, you should let Ikuto-kun get some sleep," Su told him, gently leading him out of the room with the other charas.

Amu stayed. She kept her eyes on Ikuto, hoping that he'd get better soon.

"A… mu…" Ikuto stirred and cracked one eye open to look at her. "If you stay… you're going to catch my sickness…"

"Like I care, idiot," she mumbled, shocking him. "Just make yourselves well first, and go to bed."

She didn't have to tell him twice. In a second, he was out like a light. The sight of him resting peacefully pasted a soft smile on her face.

"I'll take care of you, so get better, okay…?"

She herself drifted off to sleep, right there beside him.

-Amu's POV-

"Amu-chan!" Ran's cries woke her up. She realized that she was no longer sleeping on the edge of the bed, but someone had put her _onto_ the bed.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Ran…? Why are you…?"

"Ikuto's gone!" the chara interrupted urgently, bringing Amu back to life.

"That baka cat escaped!" In a second, she was out the door.

But Ikuto hadn't escaped. He was in the small, yet modern kitchen, in front of the stove, cooking something that –despite his handicap- smelt nice.

Amu marched up to him. "Ikuto! Get back in bed now!"

"Are you awake, Amu? I've cooked some-"

She snatched the frying pan from his hand. "Confiscated. Get to bed." After placing the pan back on the stove, she reached up to feel his forehead. "Geez, you still have a fever. You're supposed to be resting, you know? I'll continue to cook."

**(A/N: If you're wondering what they normally eat- it's either Su's cooking, or maybe sometimes Ikuto cooks. He can do anything, right?)**

"Do you even know _how_ to cook?" he asked bluntly.

Amu's anger vein popped. "I- I can chara change with Su!"

Ikuto was heavy as he leaned onto Amu, resting his hot head on his shoulder. She staggered, trying to support his weight.

"Ikuto? Are you feeling faint again?" she asked, anxious.

The boy tilted his head to her ear and whispered, "That won't do I want to eat Amu's cooking."

Her face coloured red. "W-What are you talking about? Su's cooking _is_ my cooking."

"No," he disagreed. "I want to eat _your_ cooking without chara change."

She knew that she was going to lose, so better to give up and let him heal. "Fine," she gave in, leading him to the couch. "I'll cook for you. So just rest here, okay?"

The little green chara flew up to her bearer. "Amu-chan, are you sure you don't want me to chara change with you?" she asked.

Amu snuck a look at Ikuto's tired form and smiled. "Nope. I'm okay."

Her chara smiled proudly. "I'll go take care of Ikuto-kun, desu."

"Yeah."

-A few minutes later—

"There, I'm all done," she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, proud that she had managed to cook a dish, considering that this was the first without Su's help.

"A-Amu-chan…" Ran and Miki had been floating beside her with a depressed face. "What's that?"

"Eh? It's supposed to be porridge…" Amu looked down at her dish again.

In the white bowl, brown, gooey liquid was filled to the rim and it spluttered, air-bubbles popping at the top.

"… Maybe I should make another one…" she deliberated.

Dia lowered herself so that she was right beside the porridge bowl. "Is this Ikuto's meal?"

"Um… I guess."

The yellow chara dipped a tiny finger into the bowl, and as the others watched with astounded disgust, she licked it.

"…So? How does it taste like?" the three of them eagerly waited for Dia's response.

Dia's smile became forceful and a second later, her soul was escaping her body.

"Dia! Hang in there!" Ran and Miki flew all over the place in a panic, trying to help their friend, while Amu went down into the depths of despair. "…_That _bad?"

-Time for Su to make her entrance-

"Amu-chan! Is the food ready?" Su floated into the kitchen with a sweet smile on her innocent face. That smile vanished as soon as she saw the porridge that Amu made. "What is that, desu?"

"It's porridge…" Amu mumbled for the third time.

Su's reaction was expected. She was _horrified._ "That is not food desu! Ikuto-kun will die if he eats that, desu! He can't eat it, desu!"

Each sentence Su said caused an arrow to be stabbed into Amu **(like the ones in anime)**. "As I thought. Maybe it's too horrible for him to eat, after all…"

"I'll eat it."

Everyone in the kitchen turned to the door. Ikuto was standing there, leaning against the wooden frame for support.

"Ikuto, go back to bed already!" Amu scolded, hurrying to his side.

He let Amu wrap his arm around her shoulder so that she could support him. "But your food is taking so long."

"Don't complain. I'll make another porridge quickly with Su."

"What's wrong with _that_ one?"

Amu sweat dropped. "You can't eat it. You'll die."

"Because Amu made it for me, I'll eat it even if I die."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" she frowned as she led him back to the couch.

Ikuto smiled, feeling a little better to know that Amu was taking care of him. "I want to eat yours."

She sighed, giving up. "Fine. I'll bring it over. Wait here, and don't move."

He waited obediently as she disappeared into the kitchen once more and came out with a bowl of steaming porridge. The girl placed it on the coffee table in front of him.

"You'd better not complain," she warned seriously.

"Amu-chan! That's not how you treat someone who's ill, desu!" Su scolded.

"But… it's _Ikuto._"

"Regardless of who it is, you should always treat them with care, and affection, desu," Su smiled. "Chip, syrup, whip. From someone who cannot be caring and sweet, to someone who can. Chara-"

Amu jumped. "H-Hey, Su, wait a min-"

"Change!" Su finished.

The red x hair-clip changed into a green clover, and Amu's personality changed in an instant. The 'sweet' Amu picked up the spoon and turned to Ikuto, who was kind of feeling awkward then.

"Say ahh," she said, bringing the spoon closer to his face.

The chara change became undone when Ikuto covered his mouth to stifle his bursting laughter. Amu blushed, filled with chagrin and glared at Su. Not only Ikuto, but also Ran and Miki started laughing loudly.

"S-Shut up!" she shouted at them. "Stop laughing."

Ikuto quietened, but was still grinning, amused. "No, I want you to feed me."

"J-Just eat it yourself!"

"I can't. I'm sick."

Of course, Su was there to support her. "Amu-chan, it's easy. You just go say ahh…"

Pressured, Amu had to do it. "S-Say… ah…"

Unlike the controlled expression she was wearing when chara changed, her face was now red with embarrassment and frowning with displeasure. As long as she fed him, Ikuto ate. Yoru was grateful, Su was satisfied, Ran, Miki and Dia just smiled to see their bearer having fun caring for someone she liked.

**End of Chapter 12.**

**Gee, thanks for reading! ^.^**

**WoW so long, huh? Um… I have to study now -_-**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

**Hey, thanks for the reviews. I came online expecting one, only to find four more. Ahaha, I'm glad you guys liked the whole I-made-Ikuto-sick-to-cramp-in-more-Amuto-moments because I was wondering if it was too cliché/common. **

**And I'm also sorry if the last chapter wasn't as fluffy as you would've been. Before I write, I have to watch/read Shugo Chara to get the couple in my head so I write better. So I can't really make them too fluffy if it's out of character. But I'll try to the best of my abilities.**

"Shut up. Go away," Amu moaned.

Ikuto smirked, ruffling her pink hair. "I can't do that."

"Ugh…" she coughed.

"I _told_ you that you'd get sick if you were too close to me."

"Who was the one that was being close all the time?" she snapped angrily.

He smiled. Even when Amu was sick, she was still herself. That never changed. "But it's because you were cute when you were taking care of me. I couldn't make myself stay away from you."

She was already red from the fever, but more blood was pumped to her face. "W-What are you saying you idiot? Gosh, I have no energy left to fight with you. Just leave me alone."

Ikuto had miraculously recovered in a few days' time- somehow that really got on Amu's nerves. Now, he was as healthy as a horse and back to his perverted, teasing self. On the other hand, Amu had caught his illness and was now completely vulnerable, much to Ikuto's pleasure.

"Amu-chan, you should try to fall asleep," Su said, placing a glass of water on Amu's bedside table. Since Su was constantly taking care of her bearer, Ikuto hadn't had much to do except tease and harass the pink-haired girl even more.

"I would, but he keeps annoying me," Amu mumbled.

He smiled at her. "Sleep well, Amu."

"E-Eh?"

Before she could reject, he bent down and lightly touched her forehead with his lips. Then he stuck his tongue out mockingly and fled from the room.

Amu sunk lower into the bed, blushing even more now. "Wh… What the heck was that?"

Outside, Ikuto closed the door behind him and leaned against it. He heard Amu's quiet remark and smirked.

"Next time, it won't be just on the forehead," he said quietly. "Watch out… Amu."

**(A/N: Ooooh, what's he planning to do? :P)**

-Amu's POV-

"Amu-chan, drink this, desu," Su handed Amu a suspicious-looking homemade drink.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's a healthy drink for you desu."

"…" Amu stared into the cup. "Do I have to drink it now?"

The drinks Su had made in summer for them weren't so appetizing, and Amu wasn't exactly eager to try this one out either. **(the part from the anime)**

Su frowned. "Are you not feeling well?"

"Um, well… I just feel like resting right now."

"Okay. I understand, desu."

The sweet chara continued on with her cleaning, sweeping everything in sight with a green dust cloth. She hummed an unfamiliar lullaby, beckoning Amu to sleep. The problem was, Amu wasn't sleepy. In fact, she was hungry.

Ikuto walked in at that moment.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Uggh…" Amu replied lethargically.

He felt her forehead with the gentlest of touches. "Hm… still hot."

The girl's stomach growled. Ikuto grinned scornfully, which made Amu glare up at him. She seemed to want to say _shut up_, but it looked like she didn't have enough energy to shout anymore. Su heard her and straightaway flew out of the room.

"I'll cook something for you, desu."

Ikuto sat on the bed, beside Amu's sick form.

"What…?" she started to say.

"It's my turn to take care of you," he whispered and brushed some strands of hair away from the girl's red face.

"Whatever…" she slurred breathlessly.

His eyes softened and his lips curved upwards in a tender smile. "I'll always be here for you."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. I'll tell you something good when you grow up."

"Tell me… something?" she frowned.

"Yeah."

"Why… when I grow up?"

Ikuto's reply never came. Su burst through the door with a bowl of steaming porridge –superior compared to Amu's- carried by none other than Ran, Miki and Dia.

"Amu-chan! I've made porridge for you!" the green chara beamed.

"T-Thanks, Su…"

Ikuto helped her sit up on the bed and took the porridge from the charas' hands.

"Wow, Su. It smells great," Ran praised.

"It's totally different from what Amu-chan made for Ikuto," Miki agreed.

"You're a great cook, Su," Dia extoled.

Su smiled, happy. "Thank you, desu."

Amu sweat dropped. "Somehow, it seems like you're criticising my cooking…"

"That's not right," Ikuto said nonchalantly. "To me, Amu's porridge is the best."

She looked away in embarrassment. "Saying it so casually…"

The boy ignored her comment and raised the spoon to her mouth. "Say ahh."

"T-There's no need. I'll eat it myself!" she opposed. But he held the spoon out of her reach.

"I thought you were hungry."

As if on cue, her stomach growled again. The smell of Su's cooking wasn't any soothing. It smelt enticing.

"B-But that doesn't mean that I can't eat it myself!"

Ikuto simply smirked in return, knowing that she'd have to give in sooner or later. Just as he predicted, she did.

"F-Fine. Being sick is such an inconvenience!" she complained, crossing her arms.

"Oh really? I think it's quite fun," Ikuto said innocently.

"Only for you! How'd you heal so fast anyway?"

"It's because I was being taken care of by Amu," he replied honestly. "But I wouldn't have minded being sick a little longe-"

"S-Shut up!"

"Open wide, Amu."

Timidly, she opened her mouth and let Ikuto insert a spoonful of Su's porridge.

"Now we're even," Ikuto smirked.

"Shut up… perverted cat."

-Yuki's POV- At school.

"That Hinamori Amu hasn't been at school for days!" the blonde huffed, stomping home with her chara beside her. "I should just go to her house and demand why she's not at school."

Guoste-chan stuck her tongue out. "Yuki-chan is worried about Amu-chan."

"Huh? Idiot. Why would I worry about her?"

"Mmm… I don't know…" she teased.

"Stop it. It's just because Tsukiyomi Ikuto hasn't been at school either. I need to know if they've found out who I am."

"If you're so worried, why don't you go to her house?"

"Maybe I _will_!"

Guoste-chan laughed. It had been a while since her bearer acted like this. She found out about the Embryo, from some company called Easter who asked her to help them. Yuki had declined the offer, saying that she wasn't interested in working with such a low company. However, she _was_ interested about the Embryo. After that, she started using x-eggs to find the magical egg.

Soon, she heard news that it wasn't the actual Embryo they found but just a lost child's heart egg. Then Yuki stopped looking for the embryo, but continued to create x-eggs just to make sure that she was the most talented girl in school. She got so upset when Hinamori Amu came. A person with _four_ guardian characters. If she didn't take her down first, the whole school will notice her talents. Easter mentioned something about this girl. The girl who was able to save Tsukiyomi Ikuto from his destiny and even change Easter into something better. Naturally, she got jealous.

**(Finally found a reason for why she's bullying Amu!)**

"Yuki-chan," Guoste-chan smiled, flying beside her exasperated owner. "Amu-chan is a good girl. Her charas are friendly as well."

"What are you getting at?"

"Why don't you try to be friends with her?"

Yuki was so shocked that she tripped over her own feet. "Huh? Don't be ridiculous. She's the _enemy_, Guoste-chan. Have you forgotten?"

"But… she's not a threat. She'll leave soon if you tell her the truth."

The blonde glared up at her chara. "Don't you dare mention anything to Hinamori Amu _or_ her shugo charas!"

Guoste-chan looked down at the ground. "… Yes."

**End of chapter 13**

**There. I made up the reason for the bullying as I typed. I'm glad it was good enough.**

… **I **_**think**_** it was good enough. Anyway, thanks for reading. Even if you did hate every second of it. Heh heh heh. I'm typing in school… I'm going to get in trouble **_**and**_** fail my science test. -_-**

**Another thing. The Shugo Fortune is kind of true, but it's not true. You know how they tell your fortune at the end of the anime in Shugo Chara Party? I tried it out, and I got worst luck in studying. Wow. That boosts up my self-esteem. Hahaha. I didn't lose my eraser although that's what it said, so I guess it's fine. But the part about me facing troubles is true though. I studied for the wrong test. I know, stupid right? :P**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

**Hahaha, "Enjoy being sick"? She will. So… yeah. Another chapter, another day. Thanks for reviewing (They make me laugh) so let's get onto it.**

Ikuto smirked inoffensively. Amu stared back at him with an "I-can't-believe-you-would-even-consider-it" face.

"No… way," she finally said.

He pretended to look sincerely surprised. "Why not? It clearly says on the Internet that when you're taking care of a sick person, you have to give them a sponge bath."

"A _sponge bath? _How perverted can you get? I can take a shower by myself!" Amu shouted, stomping into the small bathroom.

Ikuto followed behind her. "Do you need help with—"

"No!" she pushed him out. "Stay out, and don't you _dare_ peek!"

"But you even changed with me in the room once…"

"This and that are two different things!" she blushed. "It's not like you could see me. Stop bringing up such weird topics!"

The sliding door shut with a _bang!_

**(A/N: Ikuto was referring to the part when Ikuto was staying over at Amu's house and then he took a shower)**

Ikuto stuck his tongue out at the closed door. "Stingy."

**(A/N: LOL, that doesn't make any sense, but it just looked kind of cute in my head.)**

-Amu's POV-

She turned off the water faucet and pushed her dripping wet hair away from her face. She started to get dressed when Amu heard her phone ringing in the other room.

"The phone."

Assuming that it was from one of the Guardians, she quickly slipped on a skirt (she already had a shirt on) and opened the door. A certain blue-haired boy had also heard the phone ringing, and he was standing about five feet away with her phone in his hand.

"Do you want me to answer it?" he asked.

"Who is it?" she demanded as she walked over.

"Don't know. Private number."

"Answer it then."

Instead, Ikuto just blankly stared the the screen. A second later, the ringing stopped, which infuriated Amu. She snatched the phone and tried to call back.

"It's no use. The call isn't getting through," she mumbled. "It wouldn't have happened if you'd just answered it, you idiot!"

"I was going to. But it just stopped."

"Geez," Amu sighed. "It's like you didn't know how to answer the phone."

The conversation was interrupted when the doorbell rang, echoing in the small apartment. The two looked at each other. Who could know where they live but Easter and the Guardians? They haven't told anyone in school. The doorbell rang again, impatiently.

"Coming!" Amu shouted automatically, heading for the door. She blinked, startled, when she saw the person on her doorstep and wondered if she was seeing correctly.

The blonde stood in front of her, looking superior and perfect as always. She frowned down at Amu with an expression which seemed to say that she wasn't impressed at all.

"Y-Y-Yuki-chan?" Amu exploded.

-Yuki's POV-

Ikuto crept closer to the two girls as Amu said, "What brings you here?"

Yuki kept a serious face, her arms crossed. "Hmpt. Who's fault do you think it is that I'm here right now?" she demanded, heaving a long sigh. She took a step forward and pointed at Amu. "Look here. I'm not here because I _want_ to be, so get that out of your head, alright? Since you and Ikuto-sempai both haven't come to school in days, people are wondering what you've been up to. And since I'm a member of the student council, I was asked by the teachers to come to your house."

"What a long speech…" Amu muttered to herself.

"What was that?" Yuki demanded, glaring sideways at her.

"N-Nothing! I just got sick, so Ikuto has to stay at home and take care of me. It's nothing serious so we'll be back soon." Then she added a smile. "Thanks for checking up on us."

"Oh, so that's all that was." Yuki blushed a little when she realized what she said. "Look here. I already told you that I didn't come because I _wanted_ to. Stop getting the wrong idea."

Amu put her hands up in front of her in a surrendering gesture. "Yes, yes. I know that."

"I mean it. Don't joke around!" she scolded.

"Right. Sorry."

"I'm serious here! I would never come here on my own."

"Do you want to stay over for a while?" Amu asked. "Since you're already here."

Yuki blinked. She wasn't used to being invited into the house of someone she once bullied. "Huh? Why should I? Now that I know what's wrong with you, I'll just head back."

Amu smiled knowingly. "You say that, but you want to come, don't you?"

Yuki glared at her, embarrassed. "_I said, I don't want to!"_

Amu looked startled. "Um… okay. See you in school then."

"Yeah, whatever," Yuki waved her off and paced away from the door. As she went out of view, she said in a much quieter voice. "…I don't want to."

-Ikuto's POV-

Amu closed the door after Yuki was out of sight. "Weird girl…" she mumbled to herself.

The boy looked away, now that the blonde wasn't a threat. But he thought too soon. Miki flew down to her bearer, anxious.

"Amu-chan," Miki called.

"What is it?" Amu asked.

"I sensed something again just then."

Her eye's grew. "Eh? From Yuki-chan? She has a shugo chara?"

"It was something else. More like an x-egg."

"Yuki-chan has an x-egg?"

"No. That's not it. It just feels like it. But I'm not exactly sure of what it is."

Amu shrugged carelessly. "Oh well. Maybe you just imagined it."

Ran and Su backed her up. "That's right," the pink chara nodded. "We would've sensed it."

"And Yuki-chan is too proud of herself to get an x-egg, desu," Su smiled.

Amu sweat dropped at her chara. "Um… that was a kind of cruel thing you said while smiling…"

Su pouted a little. "I am just being honest, desu."

"Well, Su's character is to be honest after all," Ran laughed.

Miki had already forgotten about the weird feeling Yuki brought her. "That's true."

Amu laughed awkwardly, leaving her charas bickering among themselves, and for the first time, realized that Ikuto was staring at her. "W-What?"

The boy sighed, walked over to her and ruffled her dripping hair. "Your hair's still wet. You're going to get sick again."

"Ah, geez!" the girl dashed back into her bedroom. A second later, the sound of a hair-dryer could be heard.

-Still Ikuto's POV-

**(A/N: I'm sorry. I wasn't exactly sure how to write this scene)**

"This… is all your fault, idiot…" Amu's face was red.

"… My fault?" Ikuto blinked.

"If you hadn't said it, it wouldn't have happened!" the girl snapped weakly.

Ikuto chuckled. Even though her fever had risen to 99, and she barely had enough energy to stand up, somehow she still had the energy to get angry at him.

"What are you laughing at?" She sighed, exhausted. "Geez… I can't even yell anymore."

"Just sleep. Don't worry about anything."

Amu closed her eyes obediently, her pale face red from the fever and her mouth slightly open, breathing. Her eyebrows were frowning, possibly from the discomfort of the sickness. No one knew what happened next. Amu's eyes flew open in a second, only to see Ikuto rushing out the door, which slammed close. Outside, Ikuto leaned against the door, covering his mouth with his hand. What did he just do?

Did he just seriously… _kiss_ Amu on the _lips?_

**Kind of an awkward end of chapter… but oh well. I've run out of room. It's already over 1000 words, which is my limit for each chapter. Thanks for tuning in. I hope you'll wait patiently for the next chapter! But let me warn you… _You may be disappointed…_ :D**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

**Golly, thanks for still reading after that horrible chapter 14. I'm sorry about that, by the way, I wasn't really concentrating… And I know that writers aren't supposed to lose sight of the readers at all, so reading your reviews help. Thanks.**

**P.S. As expected, I totally failed my test. Nah, I didn't really, but I still only got a B for science. Also, sorry for not updating soon enough. I just downloaded more Harvest Moon games, and you know how hopeless of an obsessed fan **_**I**_** am. :D So then I just played them, and then I started reading more mangas online… and before I knew it. I hadn't finished this chapter. **

RECAP: OH MY GOSH, HE KISSED AMU! :P

-The next morning- (It was night-time and Amu didn't wake up after _that_)

Light streaming through the window woke Ikuto up. He raised his hand to block his eyes, but knew that he would have to get up very soon. And face Amu. Reluctantly, he sighed and sat up. What was she thinking about it? Is she freaking out? Was she angry at him? The boy ran a hand through his already messy hair, frustrated, and got out of bed.

"Morning Ikuto," Amu grinned.

He was stunned for a moment. "… Morning." She was acting surprisingly normal. He decided to play along. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm better now that I had a good nights' sleep," she said, eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast. "I think I'll be able to go to school again tomorrow."

Ikuto stood in front of her, watching.

Amu diverted her eyes away awkwardly, feeding herself another spoonful. But he just continued to stare at her, unmoving.

"What do you want?" she retorted when she couldn't take it anymore.

The boy's midnight eyes pierced into her honey coloured ones, as if he were peeking into her soul. "…You don't remember?"

The younger girl was still annoyed. "Remember what?"

All the time he spent worrying, and she didn't even have the decency to remember… **(A/N: It wasn't really her fault though…) **

He let out his breath, feeling relieved and frustrated at the same time. Is this the best decision to keep their relationship? But he also wanted her to realize his true feelings.

"Ikuto…?" Amu waved a hand in front of the boy's blank face. "What are you talking about?"

His penetrating eyes softened. He had a mission to achieve. "Who knows?"

"Huh?" the girl was at a complete loss. You could practically see a question mark beside her head.

-The reappearance of the Shugo Charas-

"Amu-chan!" Ran, Miki, Su, Dia and Yoru came flying in through the open kitchen window, distracting the pair of teens from their awkward and confusing situation.

"Ran!" Amu turned towards them.

All four of them, except Dia, were dirty, bruised and battered. Moreover, they had bags under their eyes and were worn out, like they'd been out the whole night.

"Are you alright? Where have you been?"

Ran stood on the counter, ready to explain. "Last night, we saw Yuki passing by, on an errand, and decided to follow her."

"We were hiding in the bushes, flying behind her…" Miki continued. "But we let our guard down for a second…"

"And then she was gone, desu."

"Ran and the others insisted on finding Yuki after that," Dia finished. From the looks of it, she was the only one who didn't look for Yuki in the bushes.

"But it's not like we found her in the end, nya…" Yoru sleepily rubbed his eye.

"It's not natural!" Ran stated.

"I told you there was something up with her," Miki said.

Su was already out of the conversation. She flew up to Amu and placed her tiny hands on her face. "Amu-chan, are you feeling better now, desu?"

"Yup. The fever died down. I can go back to school tomorrow."

"You mustn't, desu!" Su objected. "You have to let yourself heal."

"Plus tomorrow is Saturday…" Dia pointed out.

"That's right!" Amu exclaimed. "I lost count of time already."

Ikuto looked over to the girl. He had kept quiet, grateful for the chara's interruption. How could he tell Amu that he kissed her when he, himself, didn't know _why_ he'd done that. Of course, he wasn't an idiot. He knew that he liked her, but… was it really the right time to tell her…?

**(A/N: I wish they would end up together already!) **

"You're really feeling better?" he asked.

The girl blinked up at him, and smiled. "Yup."

"Then let's go out tomorrow."

"Huh? Where?"

"Anywhere. It doesn't matter."

"Why all of a sudden…?"

"Do you have someplace you want to go?" Ikuto asked.

"Umm…" Amu thought hard. "Not that I can think of right now…"

"Tell me when find something."

He started walking away when she stopped him. "Wait. Aren't you going to eat anything?"

"Not hungry."

Amu leaned back in her chair. "What's up with him?"

Her charas weren't as clueless as she was. "Amu-chan… Do you think that it's like a… date?"

"Date?"

**End of chapter 15!**

**Ikuto has a weird way of asking someone out. Anyway, it's a date. So… I'm just going to leave the destination blank because I want you guys to decide where they're going tomorrow. Is there anywhere you want them to go? Probably nothing too weird like… the moon or whatever. Also I think it's almost winter, but it's not snowing yet. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

Let's go on a date! Ikuto and Amu's first date…?

Miki sketched roughly on her sketch pad, concentrating on her latest masterpiece. Ran and Su were rampaging the closet, going through Amu's clothes. The heroine was curled up on the bed with her knees drawn to her chin, her hands fiddling with a magazine laid out on her bed. Dia had retreated back into her egg, resting.

"Amu-chan, try this on!" Ran threw a black skirt over to her bearer.

"Not that…" Su disapproved. "Amu-chan has to look cute and sweet for her first date with Ikuto-kun, desu. She should wear this dress."

"But Su, Amu-chan would definitely look better in this tomorrow," Ran argued. "She should wear this skirt with that top."

"But this dress is much fluffier and cute, desu…"

Ran turned to Amu, having only one option. "Amu-chan. Which one will you wear tomorrow?"

The girl glanced at her charas for the first time. "Shut up, already. Geez."

"Now is not the time to be browsing through magazines, desu!" Su scolded.

"You have to pick your clothes now, or you'll be late for your date tomorrow!" Ran agreed.

"I already told you, _it's not a date!_" Amu explained again.

"Yes, it is!" Ran shouted back.

Amu rolled her eyes. "No, it's not!"

"I'm finished!" Miki exclaimed excitedly, not aware of the dispute in the room.

Everyone shifted their attention to the artistic chara. "Finished what, Miki?"

She grinned proudly, ripping the page from her sketchbook and making it magically bigger so that the rest of them could see it.

The mood lightened as they took a look at Miki's drawing. They liked it- it reflected on their faces. Delighted, Miki turned to her bearer. "Do you want to try it on, Amu-chan?"

"Uh-huh!" Amu nodded eagerly.

"Draw, Drew, Drawn!" She waved her paint-brush three times. Shugo Chara magic was created in that room.

-Date day- Saturday-

-Ikuto's POV-

Ikuto stood outside their small apartment building, fully dressed for his day out with Amu. He glanced up at the darkening sky. _It looks like rain…_

The sound of a door opening could be heard. Amu was coming out.

"Ikuto, sorry for the wait…"

**(A/N: It's customary to say that on a date right? Just kidding. But since they already live together, Ikuto wouldn't have to wait for her. So I just made him wait outside)**

The teen turned around, anticipating the girl he was waiting for. Sure enough, it was her, but she looked stunning in a black, knee-length, ruffled dress that Miki had previously drawn for her. Worn with leggings, boots, and a jacket on top, it was fitting for a cold weather date.

Ikuto smirked. "What's with the Goth Lolita getup?"

"It's not a Goth Lolita cosplay!" Amu fumed. "Miki made it for me yesterday."

He smiled, patting her head. "I'm just kidding. You look cute."

Amu blushed, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Have you decided where you want to go?"

"Nope."

He made a blank face at her. (T_T) "Then where are we going…?"

"You said anywhere was fine, right?" she countered. "So let's get going."

They start to walk in no particular direction.

"Honestly," Amu complained. "You suddenly say that you want to go out, yet you don't even know where you want to go."

"I only asked you out because I wanted to spend the day with you…" *sparkles flying*

"D-Don't randomly say things like that, idiot."

As they continued to walk, they start to see a crowd of people and as they got closer, they heard loud music and a sea of blurry voices each in their own conversations.

"What's going on?" Amu thought aloud.

"It's a festival," Ikuto told her, pointing to a colourful poster stuck to a telephone pole.

Her charas popped up in her face, their eyes sparkling. "Amu-chan! We wanna go! We wanna go!"

"A-Are you kidding? Festivals like this are for little kids." She crossed her arms, putting forth her 'cool-and-spicy' attitude.

"Aww, Amu-chan! No fair! We wanna go! We wanna play!"

The boy sighed. This was supposed to be a date, but now it's just like any other day. It was up to him to change that. Taking the girl's hand with his, he led her through to the gates of the festival. "It looks like fun. Besides, today is supposed to be a date."

Amu's heart spluttered hyperactively, pumping blood to her face. Ikuto said… Ikuto said a _date_. She was about to protest- her stubborn side told her to stand her ground- but her charas were overjoyed that they would get to play. Grabbing Yoru along, they flew off.

"Hey, everyone!" Amu reached out to stop them, but Ikuto interrupted.

"Let them go," he said. "Today's our day out together. Let's go play."

"H-Hey, Ikuto!"

The blue-haired teen did not let go of her hand despite her complaint. People watched them with envy as they went past. Ikuto held the attention of maidens with his captivating looks. Amu was equally popular with her cool attitude. They were, unmistakably, the perfect couple.

-Amu's POV-

"Wow… it's pretty big…" Amu glanced around, taking in her surroundings. There were countless food stalls, game booths, and band stages. Banners decorated the buildings, and it took them a while to realize that the location was in a school. It was a school festival and everyone was welcome. It wasn't the blur of blonde hair, or the stern purple eyes that caught Amu's attention. It was the melodic voice that floated over to their ears. She'd know this voice _anywhere_.

"Utau?" Sure enough, it was her. The teen idol was up on a stage, surrounded by a swarm of eager listeners, and putting all her feelings and heart into the song she was singing. Suddenly, her eyes flickered towards the couple.

But Ikuto was faster. Amu was abruptly jerked away and pushed into a narrow gap between two buildings- well hidden from his sister's hawk-like eyes. Amu was secretly relieved. If they had been exposed, then Utau would have certainly been outraged. But on the contrary… this was an awkward situation she had gotten herself into. She bit her lip and hunched her shoulders as she looked up at the boy who was pressing her against the wall. Ikuto's head was turned away, to see if the coast was clear, but the problem was that they were awfully close.

The blue eyes that had entranced Amu so many times flashed back to her, and he smirked playfully. "What are you getting all red for?"

"S-Shut up! Perverted old man!" she shouted, horrified to realize that she really was blushing.

"People will get the wrong idea if you shout things like that."

"I-It's your fault anyway! W-What's with this position? Of course people will get the wrong idea!"

Her words only amused him- she could see that glint in his eyes. As if to tease her more, he moved his face closer to hers until she could feel his quiet breathing. Unconsciously, her face became redder, and her eyes narrowed as she diverted her eyes away.

_Ikuto smells like boy shampoo… _

**(A/N: Amu-chan's a scent pervert) **

_Ah… what am I thinking at a time like this? That's not the point. _

"What should we do now?" Ikuto's whispered question snapped her out of her thoughts.

"E-Eh?"

"In an awkward position like this…"

"S-Stop being such an idiot!" Amu struck Ikuto across the head. **(chibi-style)**

"That hurt you know…"

"Serves you right!" she stuck her tongue out, feeling free now that she wasn't trapped by a certain perverted cat any longer. "I'm going to go enjoy the festival, but you can stay here if you want!"

"You're so not cute."

"Like I care! Hmmpt!" Turning on her heels, she paced away with a sense of superiority. Ikuto soon matched his pace with her. "But it's such a surprise to see Utau here though. I wonder why she agreed to something like a school festival."

"Mmm…" Ikuto wasn't all that eager to talk about his little sister, who used to have a brother-complex, with the girl he liked.

-What the Charas were doing in the meantime-

Dia had taken charge. "What do you want to do first?"

"I wanna eat!" Ran exclaimed.

"Look at the singers!" Miki replied instead.

"Play a game, desu," Su smiled sweetly.

"Prank people, nya!" Yoru grinned mischievously.

The yellow chara sweat-dropped. What should they do first?

**End of chapter 16 The Date- Part one.**

**Which probably means that there's going to be a part two. Okay, thanks for reading. Read again soon! ^.^**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

Part II is officially here! Yay! Thanks so much for supporting me, AND AMUTO! ^.^ Geez, they always make me smile. I'm grinning like an idiot. I'm going to be honest- I know nothing about festivals. I've just been researching with a other animes with festivals in them.

Amu dragged Ikuto around with her at the festival. Satisfied that there wasn't anyone she knew except Utau, her cool-and-spicy character vanished, revealing the playful, excited girl she really was underneath. Ikuto was fine with whatever she wanted- truthfully, he also wanted to play around and enjoy the festival.

**(A/N: That manga/anime moment when they start playing everything, but it's drawn with bubbles and sparkles in the background and stuff…? You know, that still-pictures?)**

Ikuto put a plastic, anime-character mask on Amu to tease her. They hid from Utau, who knew that she saw them, so she's looking for them. They bought food and ate them as they walked.

-Amu's POV-

"Ah, that was fun," Amu grinned.

"Here," Ikuto handed her an ice-cream.

"…Thanks…" she took it from him. "But it's not like I asked you for one or anything."

"Sure." He licked his chocolate-flavoured ice-cream.

Amu bit into her strawberry-flavoured one. "You still like chocolate flavoured, Ikuto?"

"Mmm…"

"Honestly," she laughed. "You don't change at all."

The pink-haired girl was abruptly stopped when Ikuto shoved his ice-cream in front of her face, making her accidently lick it. Her face became red. "W-What are you doing?" **_Indirect kiss!_**

"You had some of mine, so let me have some of yours," he said, pulling her hand by the wrist up to his face so that he could also lick some of her ice-cream.

"O-Oi! Eat your own ice-cream!" she shouted.

Like a cat, Ikuto licked some of the ice-cream that had dripped onto his hand in the process. "Tastes good." He enjoyed watching Amu's face turn beet red.

"W-What is with this couple scene?"

He acted innocent. "What's wrong with it? This is a date after all."

Amu remained speechless and red. He brought up that word again. Just what kind of day _was_ this supposed to be?

He laughed at her amusing expression.

-Utau's POV-

**(A/N: Just wanted to add one)**

The blonde finished singing My Heartful Song on stage. Her fans all wanted her autograph, but Sanjou-san declined them all, saying that Utau was already very tired and that she had another concert to attend to in a few minutes. El and Il brought her a water bottle to soothe her tiredness as Utau wiped her sweat off with a clean towel.

"Sanjou-san… can I go look around the festival for a bit?" she asked.

"I suppose that's fine… but be sure to avoid any fans. We don't want to cause a ruckus."

"Okay…" she put on sunglasses, a beanie, and walked out of her personal caravan. She knew she saw Amu and Ikuto, and she was going to look for them.

A blur of pink-hair… ah, there she was. Ikuto was beside her too. Eating ice-cream. Her eyes widened in surprise when her brother purposefully licked Amu's ice-cream. It was practically a kiss!

"Love is in the air!" El announced. "El, the angel of love will-"

Utau held her angel chara back. She wore a soft smile, seeing Ikuto's expression- one that was happy and in love. That's right, she told herself, she handed Ikuto over to Amu already.

"Let's just leave them alone…" Utau said softly to her charas, walking away.

El and Il smiled. Their bearer had learnt to grow up. Maybe Kuukai made a difference in her life. **(Kutau moment) **

-Shugo Chara's POV-

They had been playing so many games, eating food, and having fun. The five charas were sharing a cotton-candy when they looked at each other alarmingly. Understanding one another, they nodded and flew off to find their bearers.

"Amu-chan!" Ran tackled into the pink-haired girl.

"Ow… Ran?"

"Amu-chan, there's a presence of an x-egg!" Miki informed her.

"Let's go!" She ran off with her charas.

-Amu's POV-

She had already transformed into Amulet Heart when she arrived at the destination park. As predicted, a black egg was causing riot. Fortunately, the park was empty.

"Hey!" Amu shouted to get the egg's attention. "Stop destroying the park!"

"Impossible; Impossible!" The egg cracked, and a x-chara appeared. "Impossible!" It attacked Amulet Heart with its dark energy.

"Amu-chan!" Miki, Su and Dia shouted. It was coming too fast for her to dodge. She braced herself for an impact, but instead, she was airborne from another direction.

"You're always getting in trouble, you know that?" Ikuto, character transformed with Yoru, was carrying her bridal style out of harm's way.

"Ikuto!"

He set her down on the ground. "Let's capture it together."

Amu grinned. "Okay!"

Both of them took off- Amu jumped into the air, and Ikuto ran from the ground.

"Slash-claw!"

The x-chara was forced to dodge Ikuto's attack, and straight into Amu's target.

"Negative-heart! Lock on!" she aimed. "Open Heart!"

The egg purified and flew back to its rightful owner. Amulet Heart and Black Lynx became undone. They both looked up at the sky. "It's already evening," Amu realized. "Should we head back home?"

"I heard that there's a firework show from the festival. Do you want to stay for a while?"

"Fireworks?"

Her charas appeared in her face. "Can we? Can we?"

"W-Well… since you guys insist…"

"Yay!"

So they headed back to the festival.

-Night came-

Majority of people perched on the grass, waiting for the fireworks to begin. Ikuto and Amu were also seated there- their hands intertwined.

"Hey… Ikuto…" Amu began, looking down at the grass. Ikuto glanced down at her. "Um… about today… I had fun," she smiled up at him. "Thanks."

He was surprised by her unusual bluntness about her feelings. But before he got a chance to reply, the fireworks started.

"Ah, the fireworks!" Amu watched in awe as each colour shot up into the dark sky and created illusions of lights.

"Amu…"

Upon hearing her name, the girl tilted her head to see what Ikuto wanted.

She hadn't anticipated at all… but before she realized it… they were kissing with the fireworks still exploding in the sky.

**End of chapter 17.**

**Phew. Don't worry. She's not going to forget this one. :D**

**I don't know why I did that. It was just a kind of 'in the mood' thing. Way to go, Ikuto. **

**Thanks for reading. Oh, and it's a little late, but it was Ikuto's birthday on December 1****st****, so… happy belated birthday! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION

Ikuto pulled back, intently waiting for her reaction. Twice, he had done it now. But this time was worse. She wasn't sleepy. She would remember about this the next day.

Her charas screamed in surprise. They had seen the whole thing as well- unlike last time.

"I-Ikuto you perverted cat!" Amu finally blushed. "W-W-Wha…"

She was silenced when Ikuto leaned in towards her, his eyes alert and anxious- but soft and happy at the same time. "Amu…" he spoke in a serene, sincere voice that only she could hear in the midst of the loud crowd and exploding fireworks. "I love you."

Her golden eyes enlarged. Her heart spluttered hyperactively. Is he… Is he confessing? The charas held their breath, watching.

Amu turned her head away in embarrassment. She was sure that her whole face was bright red by now. At least it was dark.

"I-It's not l-like I like you or anything… D-Don't randomly decide on your own, got that?"

Miki sighed. "There's her stubborn side again."

"Amu-chan…" Ran shook her head.

"At least consider Ikuto-kun's feelings, desu," Su scolded.

Dia simply smiled. She could see that Amu was shining radiantly.

Ikuto's lips curved upwards into a small smile. This was the Amu he knew, and he wouldn't have it any other way. The firework show came to an end with a grand explosion. The sparks died, and people got up to go. Ikuto also stood up and held out a hand to help her up.

"Let's go home, Amu."

Refusing to meet his eyes, Amu took his hand. She scrambled to her feet and the two of them walked home, the charas chattering excitedly about the day's events.

-The next day at school-

Amu and her charas were walking along the school hallway.

"Saturday was really surprising, wasn't it?" Ran asked.

"Ikuto is quite the playboy," Miki nodded sophistically.

"He stole Amu-chan's first kiss, desu," Su smiled.

"Geez, that's enough you guys!" Amu glowered.

"Amu-chan is blushing!" they teased.

"Leave me alone!"

But her charas had no intention to. "Hey, Amu-chan," Dia said. "Do you love Ikuto?"

She stopped walking. "L-Love? I don't even like him!" she bluntly denied.

"Ikuto-kun would be hurt to hear you say that, desu…"

"S-Stop talking nonsense! We have to find the culprit of the x-egg!"

-Ikuto's POV-

He was standing by the vending machine with some of his male friends when Amu and her charas strolled past without noticing him. He had heard everything they were saying.

_So… she doesn't like me, huh?_

-Guoste-chan's POV-

The blonde chara let her guard down for a second. Yuki was in a club meeting, and Guoste-chan waited on the rooftop of the school like she usually does when Yuki was busy. During that second, she hadn't anticipated that she would run into Amu and her four charas.

"Amu-chan! I feel the presence of another Shugo Chara!" Miki's voice drifted over to Guoste-chan.

She froze.

"Really? Where?" Amu's voice came next, accompanied with the sound of her footsteps.

The door swung open and they came face to face with Guoste-chan.

"It's a Shugo Chara!" Ran exclaimed, surprised.

Guoste-chan was still petrified. _W-What should I do? Sorry Yuki-chan! I've been discovered!_

Amu flashed a smile at the chara. "Hi! I'm Hi- Tsukiyomi Amu! What's your name?"

_Oh right. She doesn't know whose chara I am. _"Um... Um..."

"She seems scared..." Ran noted. She grinned cheerfully to make her at ease. "I'm Ran!"

"I'm Miki. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, desu," Su smiled. "My name is Su."

"I am Dia. We're all Amu-chan's Shugo Charas."

Amu blinked. "But it seems like your bearer isn't with you. Do you know where she is?"

"M-My bearer…?"

-Amu's POV-

Another voice could be heard as the door flew open.

"Guoste-chan…" Yuki walked out, suddenly stopping once she saw who was also there. "Why is Amu here? Guoste-chan, were you conversing with the _enemy?_"

"Eh? Yuki-chan… you can see Shugo Charas?" Amu questioned, astonished.

Realizing that her cover's been blown, she whirled around to face Amu. "Guoste-chan is my Shugo Chara. And you, Hinamori Amu, are my enemy."

Dun dun dun dun.

* * *

><p><strong>Just when things were starting to be good, Amu has a downhill? Read the next chapter! It might be the last, or it might not be. But it probably will be though.<strong>

**Thanks for reading! ^.^**

**You know, I just realized that there's really no-one that Amu can talk to about Ikuto. Let's face it- she can't tell Utau or the Guardians. Nadeshiko probably goes for Tadamu, and Kairi… well, I don't think that's possible. Kukai is a possibility, but I doubt it because he hasn't talked to Ikuto much. So… I can't really make Amu call someone up and say, "Ikuto just kissed me, what do I do?" **

**That's pretty lonely. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

**RECAP: Just when things look like it's going well for Amu, she is confronted by her enemy…?**

"Yuki-chan…" Amu couldn't believe what she was hearing. "You're… the enemy? You're the one who was creating x-eggs?"

"That's correct," Yuki confessed bluntly. "Dreams are worthless anyway, so it doesn't matter whether I destroy them or not—"

"That's not true!" Amu shouted, clenching her fists. "Dreams are not worthless! Your heart's egg isn't useless! You know that too, right, Yuki-chan? Because you also have a chara by your side."

"Enough," Yuki's bangs casted a shadow over her eyes. "Stop talking like you know everything about me. You don't know anything!"

The pink-haired girl watched worriedly. "Yuki-chan…"

"My own heart- unlock!" Yuki underwent the Character Transformation process with Guoste-chan.

"Yuki-chan Character Transformed!" Miki stated, surprised.

"Ran…" Using her common sense, Amu decided to also undergo Character Transformation too.

"Let's go, Amu-chan!" Her chara was only too happy to comply.

Yuki watched the girl transform with her shugo chara. "So you can even Character Transform?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.

"Amu-chan, be careful," Ran warned.

"I've always done my best in everything I do. I've always strived for perfection in whatever I did. But why is it that you're always better than me, Hinamori Amu?"

Amu blinked, clueless. "Eh?"

"I have one chara, but you have four. Even though I tried so hard to make everyone hate you, somehow you still came through to them. When I caused problems between you and Ikuto-sempai, you managed to solve them. Your charas became x-eggs, but you didn't give up and they hatched once more. Why do you always win against me?"

Unexpectedly, she attacked Amulet Heart. Her charas lunched towards their bearer. "Amu-chan!" Fortunately, there was just enough time for Amu to hold up her cheerleading pom-poms to reflect off the attack. Her charas sighed in relief. Her legs gave away under the pressure of the energy and she dropped down.

"Amu!" Suddenly, Black Lynx was beside her, helping her get back on her feet. "Are you okay?"

"Amu-chan," Dia flew up to her bearer. "Yuki-chan has lost something precious to her. She has lost one of her heart's eggs."

"Yuki-chan had two Shugo Charas? What happened to the other one?"

Yuki looked straight at her. "My other chara? It died long ago."

"D-Died?" Amu stared at her in shock.

"She died before she was born. My dreams were crushed too, and I never even got to meet her."

"But that's no excuse for what you're doing!" Amu insisted. "Why are you destroying other's dreams?"

"_I want to be perfect in whatever I do. I want people to look up to me._ That was the feeling from which Guoste-chan was born. If I… If I stop being perfect, then she will disappear too. Guoste-chan is the most important person to me! I will do anything to protect her. So if I create problems for the students, then I will be the only one that they turn to. I will be the perfect one, and as long as I have my way, Guoste-chan will never disappear!"

"You're wrong!" Amu spoke firmly with determined look on her face. "You're wrong, Yuki-chan."

"That's right!" Ran exclaimed, appearing beside Amulet Heart.

"We Shugo Charas never die," Miki said matter-of-factly.

"And as long as you keep believing, desu," Su continued.

"Your Shugo Chara can be reborn again, and again," Dia finished.

Amu's expression softened. "I'm sure you'll see your chara again, Yuki-chan."

The tears that Yuki was so desperately trying to hold in flooded out, and an x appeared on her heart. Everyone saw it.

"Yuki-chan has an x!"

Amu was already on it. "Negative Heart- lock on! Open Heart!"

-Yuki's POV-

After Amu did Open Heart, bright lights surrounded her. Ikuto, Amu, and her charas were nowhere to be seen.

"Guoste-chan?" she searched frantically for her beloved chara when she realized that she wasn't Character Transformed with her anymore. Then an egg caught her eye. It was floating silently in front of her. "A character egg…?"

To her surprise, it started to hatch, and a girl popped out. Her bluish-black hair framed her small face. There was a black bow on her right side. She opened her eyes, revealing the teal-coloured irises, and smiled up at Yuki.

"I finally get to meet you, Yuki-chan," she spoke in a sweet voice.

The blonde's eyes opened wider as she recognized her. "You can't be…"

"I want to make people happy. I want to have many friends," the chara said. "From that feeling, I was born. Nice to meet you, Yuki-chan! My name is Gi-chan."

"Gi-chan?" Yuki repeated. "But… those feelings have disappeared since long ago- just like you."

"I'm always with you, Yuki-chan. I've always been inside you. And I'm sure that you still have those feelings in you. You just needed someone to help you remember it."

The lights disappeared, and she was on the roof again.

"Yuki-chan!" Amu ran up to her- no longer in a character transformation.

"Amu-chan…" Yuki blinked. In her hand was another chara egg.

The charas grinned. "It's a shugo egg."

"Gi-chan…" Yuki smiled down at it fondly. "Her name is Gi-chan."

"Is that the chara you lost?" Amu asked. "I'm glad you got her back."

Yuki looked away with a faint blush on her cheeks. "I'm only going to say this once, okay? And I'm only doing it because it's polite… Thank you…"

Amu and her charas smiled, knowing that she was actually grateful. The girl stuck out her hand to shake. "It's okay. We're friends now, aren't we?"

"Friends…?" Yuki's eyes sparkled. "Hmmpt. It's not like I'd ever be friends with you, but if you insist… then I guess it wouldn't hurt." She allowed and shook hands.

"Sure!" Amu grinned. "We'll be friends forever. You can come visit me anytime."

"Visit? You're going somewhere?"

"I have to return to my old school. The only reason I came here is to investigate the x-egg rumour."

Yuki looked disheartened. "I see…"

"But it's okay! You still have plenty of friends in school!"

"That's not true. The people in school only look up to me because I'm good at things. They don't consider me their friend."

"You just have to be closer to them, and be nice to them. Sooner or later, you'll have lots of friends!"

The blonde looked down at her unhatched egg and lightened. "Okay! I'll try to make friends."

-After school-

"Aw geez! I don't get this problem!" a girl complained.

"Eh? You don't? I was going to ask you for help," her friend sighed.

Yuki walked up to them. "That problem's easy. If you want, I could help you with it."

They looked up at her in awe. She hadn't tried to talk to them before. "R-Really? Thanks! That would help us a lot."

Yuki smiled. "No problem."

-Amu's POV-

"How do you think Yuki-chan is doing?" Ran asked.

"Yuki-chan seems to have changed," a girl was saying to her friend as she walked past Amu.

"Yeah," the other one agreed. "She's more open now. Before it was hard to approach her. I wonder if we could be friends one day."

Amu smiled to herself. "I think she's doing well."

"Amu-chan!" Yuki's voice rang in the hallway, followed by her footsteps.

"Yuki-chan?" Amu turned around to see what the girl wanted.

"When do you have to leave?" she demanded.

"When? Um… I'm not sure…"

"Can you stay for a few more days?" Yuki asked. "B-Because we have a school festival to get ready for, and it'll be bothersome for us to be one person short."

The girl grinned. "Okay. I'll help out."

"T-Then it's fine. Also, come to the class meeting tomorrow. You'd better be there! Don't you forget!" She warned and ran off.

"Yuki-chan seems more busier than before, desu…" Su noted.

"It can't be helped," Amu said. "She still has a lot more friends to make."

**End of chapter 19**

**So… this wasn't the last chapter as planned. Because we still have to make AMUTO **_**officially**_** date. That'll have to be resolved in the next chapter so please be patient with me.**

**And as always, thanks for reading and reviewing my story! ^.^**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

After the Yuki-x-egg incident was solved, everything around the school became more peaceful. She still wasn't sure how the blonde managed to control the student-body, but all of a sudden, Amu found herself being less bullied, and treated more kindly. There was also less tension between Yuki and the students who admire her. Yuki's sudden change in her attitude and personality made her more popular than ever. **(A/N: Sad to say, it didn't work for Amu though) **And with the school festival just around the corner, everyone was busy preparing for it.

-Amu's POV-

"I'll be back soon, so just hang on, okay?" Amu spoke into her phone receiver.

"Why can't you come back if you've already taken care of everything?" Yaya whined.

"I still have some things to take care of. I'll come back right after that, okay?"

"Things like what?"

The sound of the front door closing could be heard. "Ikuto, is that you?" she called.

"Ikuto-kun?"

"Ah, sorry Yaya. I have to go now. I'll see you when I get back."

"But, Amu-chi-" the orange-haired girl was cut off the line.

Amu smiled happily. She would be seeing the Guardians and all her old friends again soon. She found the blue-haired boy sprawled out on the couch.

-Ikuto's POV-

"Did you decide what you were going to do in the school festival?" she asked, since Ikuto had just returned from an after-school class meeting.

"A music show. They asked me to play my violin."

"Eh? You're going to play the violin?" Amu's eyes sparkled eagerly. "I'll definitely come watch!"

"Okay."

"Our class is doing a fortune-telling café. I'll give you a free coupon, so be sure to come, alright?" she pointed an extended finger at him. "Also, remember to get your fortune told. Since you're pretty popular in the higher grades, I think a lot of people will come with you."

"You're just using me to get more customers…?"

"Eh? Um, well… that would help us out a lot," she smiled guiltily. As she turned to go, Ikuto called out her name, stopping her.

"What?" she asked.

"Do you understand what happened during the fireworks on Saturday?"

Amu blushed. "W-What are you talking about all of a sudden…?"

"I need to know if you heard what I said," he continued seriously.

"What… What you said…?" she repeated nervously.

Ikuto hoped that he didn't have to say it out loud. He'd wanted an answer, but if he said it aloud, then it might seem as if he's forcing her to answer him. Still, he was dying to know.

"What's your reply?" His eyes bored into hers, trying to read her silent thoughts. What was she really thinking? He was desperate to know. But she had no intention of letting him get into her head.

"S-Stop it!" she shouted, unable to control herself. "I don't like this!"

The girl ran to her room, leaving an impatient Ikuto without an answer.

-The next day-

"Amu-chan, is it okay to leave Ikuto at home alone?" Ran asked.

"He might think that you're mad at him," Miki said.

"It can't be helped," Amu replied. "I have to get to school earlier than normal to prepare for the school festival. Ikuto was still sleeping anyways. There's no reason to wake him up this early."

"But if you think about it from Ikuto's point of view," Dia pointed out.

"You yelled at him and locked yourself in your room for the rest of the night. And then the next morning, you left early without saying a word so that you wouldn't have to face him, desu."

"It's just a misunderstanding. I'll talk to him when I can."

"It was such a shock when he confessed to you, wasn't it?" Ran smiled.

"Are you going to give him your answer then?" Miki asked.

Amu looked down, uncertain. "I don't know what I should do…"

"Are you an idiot?" **(That's Amu's line!)**

Everyone turned to the right to see a figure hiding behind the bushes. Despite the attempt, she was still very exposed to the public as she was obviously stalking Amu and her charas.

"Yuki-chan? Rather… why are you hiding there?"

The popular blonde stepped out of the bushes. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm on my way to school."

"…"

"And anyway, you guys were talking too loudly. I heard every word. You don't need to explain."

Amu and her charas sweat-dropped. "N-No, you're the one who's supposed to explain…"

Yuki very wisely chose to ignore her words. "So you say you're having trouble with Ikuto-sempai?"

"Yeah."

"Do you like him?"

"E-Eh…?" Amu glanced up at her newest friend, and realized that with Yuki, she didn't have to hide the fact that they weren't siblings. Somehow, she knew everything about her already. "I think so…"

"Well? Does your heart jump when you see him?"

"Sometimes."

"Do you feel self-conscious around him?"

"Most of the time."

"Does his insignificant gestures make you happy?"

"Yeah."

"What is he to you?"

"Ikuto is… um…" Amu thought about it. "When I first met him, I thought he was a perverted cat. And now, I know that he really is. All he likes to do is harass little kids like me and he's an idiot who won't tell anyone what he's thinking. He finds amusement in teasing people to no end and he also likes riding the tea-cup in the amusement park."

Yuki stared at her with unintelligent eyes and her mouth hanging open. (the manga-chibi face that says 'unbelievable') "…"

Amu's expression turned softer. "But he's also the type of person that you can count on. No matter what kind of trouble you're in. Even if you're the enemy, he'll help you out. Ikuto doesn't like to rely on people because he doesn't want to endanger them. He keeps his thoughts a secret, but he's honest. When he plays the violin, he plays wonderful songs, full of his feelings. Ikuto has always been there for me, holding my hand and guiding me along. I don't want to separate with him."

Yuki smiled, understanding Amu's feelings. "You really are, such an idiot."

"That's a little harsh…"

"That's the truth, after all. It's completely obvious that you like him."

A faint colour of crimson streaked across her face.

"Where's Ikuto-sempai now?" Yuki asked as the walked to their classroom.

"He's still asleep. I came alone for the meeting."

"He doesn't know that you've gone?"

"Um… not yet, I suppose."

"Somehow, when you say that, I really feel like hitting you…"

"Eh?"

"Nothing, nothing," she pasted a smile on her face. "Just remember to clear everything up, okay?"

"I know."

-Ikuto's POV-

The first thing he noticed was that the house was too quiet. Normally, Amu would be poking his face, trying to wake him up. Today, it was Yoru who woke him up. The second thing was that he couldn't hear her talking to her charas or getting ready for school. Yoru informed him that they were already gone when he woke up. Then he understood. Amu was still angry at him, and so she left for school by herself- not wanting to face him.

He sighed to himself. Maybe he rushed things. He should've just waited patiently.

-Amu's POV-

Everyone was excitedly getting ready for the festival. Desks were pushed together and covered with tablecloth to make it look like a café. The walls were being decorated with streamers and balloons. People were writing on the blackboard, designing on paper and working on menus. Amu was also having fun until her train of thought travelled to Ikuto.

_I wonder if he's blaming himself…_

"Amu-chan!"

She whirled around, bringing her thoughts back to present. "Yes?"

"Here are some free coupons for our café, so you can invite anyone you want," the girl presented to her the strips of red-coloured paper.

"Thanks," Amu smiled as she received them.

"Who are you going to invite?" Ran asked excitedly.

"Who else?" Miki shrugged. "_Him,_ right?"

Amu was strongly staring at the coupons. "Would he want to come?"

"I'm sure Ikuto-kun will definitely come, desu," Su assured her.

"As long as you ask properly," Dia added.

She pouted a little, thinking. "Hmm…"

"What are you thinking that much for?" Yuki demanded. "You already know who you're going to invite, so how about helping out a little?"

Amu grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. I'll help out."

-After school- Ikuto's POV-

"Ikuto!"

He stopped after hearing Amu's voice calling out his name. She rushed up to him, out of breath.

"Hold on a sec…" she huffed.

"Amu? I told you that I was going to leave school late."

"Yeah, I know," she grinned up at him. "I had to help out with something so I ended up late too."

Ikuto continued to walk with Amu matching her pace with his.

"Hey, Ikuto," she began. "About this morning, I had to leave early because they called me early. It's not like I'm avoiding you or anything," she tried. "Seriously, I'm not angry at you."

That was unexpected. He wanted to laugh at himself for being so worried. Of course Amu wouldn't get mad at him for something like that.

"And I'm sorry for what happened yesterday," she continued. "The truth is that… I like you too. A lot."

His eyes grew, and his mouth hung open slightly, astounded. Was he hearing correctly? It was already dark out, but he could see that Amu was blushing and not making eye-contact with him.

Ikuto smiled genuinely. He was truly happy that she had said that.

"Geez, this is so hard!" she complained, flustered.

Out of the blue, Ikuto hugged her from the back, tightly holding her close to him.

"Eh?" Amu's heart pounded.

"I'm… really happy to hear that."

Embarrassed, the girl was frowning to hide her true emotions. Yet she gripped onto the boy's arms as to never let him go again. Their Shugo Charas grinned approvingly.

Looks like everything turned out fine in the end.

**End of Chapter 20**

**Well… the original plan was to make Amu hug Ikuto from behind first… but I guess this way works too. I hope… -.-" Can you imagine the last scene… but snowing? I don't know what weather it's supposed to be, but let's just make it snowing.**

**What the heck- looks like there's going to be another chapter after all. But you can stop reading now if you want to. Because it's the school festival next. But note: There aren't much FLUFF in the next chapter. Only what happens at the festival. ****If you want to see Ikuto's violin part, Amu's waitress act, and their relationship, then I suggest you keep reading.**

**Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for reviewing, and noticing that my story is on Fanfiction. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**ANOTHER AMUTO FAN FICTION**

**(More of an extra chapter)**

**NOTE: This chapter is longer than the others because I cramped so much in it in one go. Enjoy- because this is the last chapter. Unless I think of adding a sequel… but I don't think that's going to happen. **

The school festival was tomorrow, and the whole school was decorated and ready. The students buzzed with excitement, eager to see what the next day would bring. The temperature had also started to drop. It snowed sometimes in the middle of the night.

Amu blew on her cold hands to keep them warm as she walked home with her boyfriend, Ikuto.

"Are you cold, Amu?" _Ikuto_ asked.

"Mmm…" she replied, stuffing them into her pockets. "The weather's pretty cold."

"Didn't you bring gloves?" he arched an eyebrow disapprovingly.

She smiled up at him sheepishly. "I forgot to wear them today."

"That's not good," he smirked, reaching over and pulling her hand out of the pocket. "I'll have to keep it warm for you then."

"Your hands are really warm!" she exclaimed, surprised.

Taking her by surprise once again, he reached over and planted a quick kiss on the back of her hand.

Amu's face went bright red. "I-Ikuto you pervert!" She tried to snatch her hand back, but he was holding onto it very tightly. "Let go!"

He sniggered. "You're such a kid, still. May I keep them warm for you this way, my princess?"

"Geez," she looked away, but her fingers closed on his hand nonetheless.

**(A/N: I was debating so hard whether to put that in or not. I know it's somewhat OOC, but I hope you guys don't mind)**

Since Amu's reply, they had gotten along better than before- although that wasn't saying much. Ikuto still did his occasional teasing, and Amu still got mad at him, but they were more of a couple now. The gap Ikuto left open due to Amu's hesitation had been closed. Of course, in school, they still had to pretend that they were siblings so that they don't cause any suspicion. Yuki was relatively happy for Amu and is so far the only other person to know about their relationship.

"Oh, Ikuto!" Amu realized, taking out something from her pockets. "I'll give these to you, so you _have_ to come, okay?"

He took the red-coloured papers from her hand. "Coupons?"

"For our café," she reminded him. "It's tomorrow, so you'd better not forget. You _will_ come, right?"

His lips curved up in a smile and he put the coupons away. "I'll be there for sure."

Once again, Amu was entranced by his unanticipated smile. He seemed to do that a lot more lately. Ikuto must be in a good mood.

**-Day of the Festival-**

The students were asked to come early to prepare for the opening. Even then, everyone was chaotic, and nervous.

"Amu-chan!" a girl desperately clung onto the pink-haired girl as soon as she walked through the school gates. "We need your help! Come quickly!"

"What's the matter?" Amu asked as they ran off to the class.

"We need you to help sew the costumes. Some of them need repairing. Please tell me you know how to sew!"

Amu glanced at her green chara, who gave a nod in return. _She_ didn't have a hope of knowing how to sew, but Su should be a natural at this. "Sure. I'll help out."

"Chip, Syrup, Whip!" Su twirled, chara-changing.

Working like a professional, Amu finished sewing the clothes. The girls marvelled at her work.

"Amu-chan!" another girl called. "Please help us paint the sign! Water fell on it and now everything's falling apart!"

"Okay. No problem!" Amu assured her, chara-changing with Miki. "Drew, Draw, Drawn!"

Once again, the class admired her talents.

"Thanks! Now, try this on, Amu-chan!"

Amu stared at the clothes they were trying to make her wear. "I have to wear that?"

"All the café staff has to dress up like fortune tellers," she explained. "Please go change into this."

She sighed in defeat. "O-Okay…"

**-Ikuto's POV-**

The class was just as hectic as any other class. People were everywhere- going out, coming in, working in groups or just working alone. Ikuto stood in the corner, tuning his precious violin. Nobody in the class knew that he could play the violin- nor that his father was Tsukiyomi Aruto. They put their trust in him completely when he announced that he knew how to play the violin. The musicians were told to practice at home, but Ikuto had carelessly skipped that part- not that he needed to practice. His violin skills were already unbeatable.

"Look! People are coming in!" someone pointed out the window, causing a ruckus. It was only a matter of time before this school was crowded.

Ikuto wondered how Amu was doing with her job and tried to imagine her working in a café.

"Get ready everyone!" class-president commanded. "To your places."

Ikuto went backstage with the other musicians, getting ready to come out.

-Some time later-

It was Ikuto's turn now. He stepped out onto the stage and felt eyes on him. He scanned the crowd, ignoring the squeals of fan girls- looking for only one thing that truly mattered. Finally, he found her, smiling back at him encouragingly.

Rest assured, now that he knew _she_ was here, he shut his eyes- the face of the girl he loved still in his mind- and moved his rod up and down the string gracefully. He won the full audience within the first minute. They kept their eyes on him- unmoving. Even Amu was helplessly won over by the elegant, flawless performance of the violinist. As the next musician came on, Ikuto caught a glimpse of Amu leaving the room hurriedly. She still had customers to serve, after all.

Before the ardent audience could get to him, Ikuto slipped out, as quietly and quickly as the cat that he is, with his violin case slung over his shoulder.

A "Fortune-Telling" café, Amu had said. She didn't mention cosplaying. Ikuto almost laughed out loud when he saw that the girl was wearing a black, long-sleeved dress with a cape to look like a fortune teller. The dress was knee-length, but the cape was long enough that it brushed the floor as she walked. Even with her hood on, he could recognize her, and went to sit down at a vacant table to wait for her.

**-Amu's POV-**

She was working busily, character changed with Ran. It made things easier to cope with. Besides, this outfit was better suited for her peppy personality anyways. It was working so far- even if she _was_ humiliating herself by doing this. Amu suddenly looked very self-conscious when she spotted him sitting alone, and as she walked over, he _had_ to gave her a smirk. That threw her off the edge.

"I know it looks weird already!" she shouted, her face reddening. "I'm embarrassed about it too! But they said that I have to wear it, so I'm wearing it!"

"A-Amu-chan…" Ran tried to stop her bearer, now that the chara-change was undone.

"That's so unladylike…" Miki griped. "You're supposed to be the heroine."

"She changed once she saw Ikuto-kun," Su pointed out.

"Because Amu-chan was actually really embarrassed to wear the outfit," Dia smiled sympathetically.

Ikuto snickered, covering his mouth with his hands. Obviously, he was enjoying Amu's outburst. But that only made her feel more mortified.

"Laugh all you want. I'll throw your food on the ground before serving it to you," she grumbled, walking away without caring to take his order.

"Ah, wait," he said, catching her hand. "I was just kidding. You look cute in that."

Not only Amu, but her charas also blushed.

"Ikuto's quite blunt!" Ran exclaimed.

"A straightforward playboy!" Miki remarked.

Amu regained her posture. "A-Anyway, if you're going to be a customer, at least try out our fortune-telling services," she advertised, gesturing to a round table at the corner with a crystal ball on it. A girl was sitting at the table, also wearing a fortune-teller cosplay, waiting for someone to ask about their fortune.

"The person is suspicious looking," Ikuto mumbled. "I don't want to do it."

Amu's anger vein popped out. "Just do it!" Forcing the boy against his will, she sat him down on the opposite chair so that he was facing the girl.

"What fortune would you like to be told?" she smiled at him warmly. "Finances? Love? Friendship?"

"My future with someone I like," Ikuto replied openly while Amu blushed from behind.

The girl blinked. "Eh? Tsukiyomi-sempai has someone he likes?"

"…Aren't you the fortune teller?"

She cleared her throat and sat up. "Yes, that's right. So let's look into the crystal ball and see." Ikuto sat quietly as he let her do her job. "I see… that you've chosen your destination, and that your journey has begun. For some reason, I see Amu-chan too. Maybe she has something to do with the one you love." –Amu thinks: Wow, she's good!- "Anyhow, I don't see her _preventing_ your relationship. So you two will be very happy together as long as you work at it."

"Will I get to my destination?" Ikuto asked half-heartedly- he didn't believe in fortune tellers.

"Um… I don't see why not."

"Is it a long journey?"

"If you know your way, you can make it short."

"Do you know who I'm asking about?"

"Okay!" Amu interrupted, yanking the boy out of the chair by the collar like you would with a cat. "Fortune time's over! Thanks, Neko-chan."** (A/N: The girl in chapter 4)**

"You're welcome, Amu-chan," Neko-chan smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Tsukiyomi-sempai."

**-end of day-**

"Good work everyone!" the class cheered, joyous that they were successful.

Amu was changing back into her uniform when Yuki walked over. "You did good today," she began, followed by a playful sneer. "Until you saw Ikuto-sempai."

The pink-haired heroine, knowing that she was only joking, simply glared in return.

Yuki laughed, a cheerful and pretty sound. But then her expression changed. "So, now that the school festival is over, when are you leaving?"

"We're going back tomorrow."

The blonde nodded helplessly. "Can I see you off?"

"Of course."

Yuki smiled warmly at her first friend before turning to the class. "Hey everyone, I have an announcement to make. Tomorrow, Amu-chan is going back to her old school."

"Eh? Why?" the class frowned upon this decision. "We just started to become friends."

"Come on, you guys," Neko-chan said. "As classmates, shouldn't we support her in what she chooses?"

The classmates seem to gradually agree with her. "But… we're just saying that because we'll miss her," someone said.

"That's right. Come visit us sometime, okay?" They moved closer to Amu, all biding farewell to the happy pink-haired girl, who found that it was not as easy as it looked to leave this school.

"Thanks, everyone," she beamed.

"Amu, looks like someone is waiting for you," Yuki pointed.

The heroine peeked out the window curiously to see Ikuto by the gate. It was long past school hours, and she knew he was cold because she could see his breath. Yoru was lazily lounging on the fence, his tail swinging rhythmically. She couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Get that love-sick look off your face," Yuki whispered to her.

Blood pumped up to her face. "W-What look? This is just how I look, okay?"

Yuki frowned disapprovingly and pushed Amu in the general direction of the door. "Just kidding. But don't you have to get going now?"

Amu grinned at her. "Yeah. Bye!"

**-Ikuto's POV-**

Yawning for what seemed like the millionth time, the blue-haired boy patiently waited for the girl to come out. Sure, she told him that she was going to be late, but there was no way he was letting her walk alone at night. He'd wait through the whole night if he had to. He looked up at the sky and frowned to himself. Now that he think about it, he'd be willing to do anything for the girl. When did that happen?

"Ikuto!" Amu's voice broke into his thoughts. "What are you still doing here?"

As if it wasn't obvious. "Waiting for you."

"You didn't need to do that," she insisted angrily, taking his hand and putting it in front of his face as if to prove her point. "See, you're freezing! You should have more common sense. Just how old are you?" she scolded. "Geez, who's the adult here? If you're going to wait, at least wear gloves, or something." She untied the scarf that was wrapped around her neck and threw it over his own. "I'll lend you my scarf today because you waited for me. But next time, you'd better bring your own, alright?" she warned as she tied it for him.

The boy was taken aback with her response. He'd expected that she would blush a little like she always did, and blurt out the first, embarrassing thing that came to her mind. Moreover, the face she makes while expressing gratitude was unbearably cute. How did this petite girl find her way into his life? What made her so important to the point that it would be almost impossible to live without her now? He gazed at her lovingly and smiled. That didn't matter. None of those questions did. The most important thing was that she was his now. And all he had to do was to never let her go.

"W-What…?" The girl noticed his unfathomable, longing expression.

"Let's go home, Amu."

**-Seeing off scene-**

Yuki had come over to her house the next day to see her off. "So you're really leaving, huh?"

"Yeah," Amu said.

They both looked around the furnished, yet empty apartment. Ikuto was already outside, leaving the two girls to themselves.

"It kind of feels lonely…" Yuki said, and decided to be frank for once. "I'll miss you, Amu."

"We'll keep in touch," Amu assured her. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Yuki grinned. "You bet."

Ran, Miki, Su and Dia gathered with Guoste-chan and Gi-chan, who had recently hatched.

"I'll miss you all," Guoste-chan said, tears welling in her eyes.

"Thank you for everything," Gi-chan added.

"We didn't get to talk much," Ran apologized.

"But I'm sure that we'll meet again," Miki promised.

"Until then, we have to say goodbye," Su pronounced.

"Take care," Dia smiled.

"Bye," Yuki said to Amu.

She shook her head. "Not 'Bye'. Just 'see you later'."

Yuki cracked a smile. "That's right. I'll see you later then."

"Yup."

**(A/N: They don't even live that far away from each other… Oh well)**

**-Back home at last- Amu's POV-**

"Hey, Ikuto… Do you think we should tell my parents that we're going out?" Amu asked on the bus-ride back home. The blue-haired boy had decided to take her back.

"Why?" he glanced sideways at her.

"W-Why?" she repeated, suddenly nervous. "Um… we _are_ going out… right?"

"If we are, then state it. Not ask it."

"We're going out," she repeated firmly, her face reddening out of embarrassment.

Ikuto sniggered. He'd just wanted to make her say it out loud, and she suddenly realized that.

"Y-You—" she was too lost for words. "Making fun of me again?"

"You fell for my tricks again."

"That's it," she growled. "I'm not going to talk to you. Forget I said anything."

He put an arm around her shoulders, and casually pulled her towards him to steal an unexpected kiss. "I just wanted to hear you say that, because it makes me happy."

Amu covered her mouth, the blood spreading to the tip of her ears. "Pervert…" she accused quietly.

-At Amu's house-

"I'm back!" she shouted, dragging her luggage behind.

"Amu-chan!" her parents crushed her in a family bear hug. Ami also popped up. "Super Characters!" The next thing they knew, the young girl had them in her arms. Dia, noticing Ami's 'hug-patterns' calmly dodged out of her way. Her companions whined in dissatisfaction. "That's sly, Dia!"

Ikuto followed in from behind Amu, surprising all three family members while Amu started to blush a little. She was wondering how her family would take the news.

"Ikuto-kun? Are you here to see Amu-chan?"

"Actually, I'm here to ask your permission for her hand in marriage," Ikuto replied with a straight face.

"EHH?" Both her parents shouted, their eyes popping out of the sockets.

Amu hit Ikuto across the head for his earlier remark and tried to calm down her over-reactive parents. "H-He's only joking! That was a joke! It wasn't true."

"Amu-chan, you're getting married?" her father was in tears. "I didn't even know you were dating!"

"I said that wasn't true! We've only started dating! That's all! Isn't that right, Ikuto?"

"Ehh? But I'm going to marry you anyways, so why not just do it now?" he asked innocently.

"S-Stop saying whatever you like you idiot! Besides, that's against the law! I'm only thirteen!"

"Is that true, Amu-chan?" her parents had stopped kicking a fuss. "You're dating Ikuto-kun?"

"T-That's right," she confessed.

Her father, who would usually cry over this and go sulk in a corner, learnt to grow up and let go. He walked over to Ikuto, and keeping eye-contact, said, "Please take care of our daughter."

Ikuto bowed politely. "I understand."

Amu was slightly confused. "Eh? It's okay for me to date Ikuto?"

Her mother smiled at her. "Well, you're already at that age to be interested in a guy. Besides, I may not understand much, but it seems like you and Ikuto-kun has been through a lot. Moreover, we trust him. And we trust you, Amu."

"Mama…" Amu was touched.

"Ami approves as well!" Ami shouted, lightening the mood instantly. "Because Ikuto-kun has a kitty chara for Ami to play with!" Yoru got kidnapped before he could react.

"Kitty chara…?" her parents tilted their heads in puzzlement.

"Ah, it's nothing!" Amu quickly covered for her.

**-At Amu's high-school-**

Rumours of Amu's disappearance were passing around already. She was still popular by keeping her cool façade.

"Hey, hey, did you know? Amu-chan has a really cool boyfriend. He's an older person, and he's from another school."

"Wow. As expected of Amu-chan. She's so cool and spicy!"

Amu stepped out of the classroom with a small smile on her face as she remembered the time when she told her friends about her newfound relationship with Tsukiyomi Ikuto.

-Flashback-

It was after school the following day. Amu and the Guardians were walking to the school gates when Tadase froze. "Ikuto-nii-san."

His voice was low, but loud enough for the small group of friends to hear. They all turned to the gates, and sure enough, Ikuto was standing there, in his old school uniform. He looked over, and smirked at Tadase.

"Yo, Tadase. Long time no see," he ruffled his hair playfully.

Tadase smiled up at him. "It has been a while. But nii-san, why are you here?"

"Why?" his gaze slid over to the pink-haired girl. "I'm here to pick up my _girlfriend._"

It took a moment for that to sink into them. "…EHHH?" the exploded.

"Amu-chi, you didn't tell us!" Yaya blamed. "You're going out with Ikuto?"

"Um… yeah. Seems like it…" Amu mumbled.

"Well, if that's your choice, I don't have any problems with it," Rima regained her cool.

"Congratulations, Amu-chan," Nagihiko smiled cheerfully. "I'm glad you made your choice."

Amu turned to Tadase, dreading to see his reaction. But he managed a smile. It was kind of pained, but she was relieved to see that it wasn't forced. "I'm truly happy for both of you."

"Tadase-kun…"

The blond turned to Ikuto. "Ikuto-nii-san, I understand that your feelings have reached Amu-chan. Please make Amu-chan happy."

Ikuto blinked in surprise before smiling at the boy. "Tadase, you've become a strong-minded guy," he complimented. "I understand. I'll make her happy with all my heart."

Kukai chose that moment to walk over. "Yo, what's going on here?"

"Kukai! Listen to this!" Yaya pointed at Ikuto. "Amu-chi is going out with Ikuto!"

"Eh? This is unexpected," **(no, it wasn't)** he said, taking out his cell-phone.

"Kukai? Who are you calling?"

"Utau. I'm going to tell her the good news."

Amu grabbed his hand. "You can't! I'll die! She'll kill me for sure!"

"Hello? Utau? It's Kukai."

"Why does Kukai have Utau's number?" Yaya murmured to Rima.

"Did you know?" Kukai continued. "That Amu is—"

She snatched the phone out of his hands. "No, don't tell her!"

"Don't tell me what?" Utau walked through the school gates, penetrating stares watching her every move. A lot of commission was going on today.

"UTAU?" Amu cried the same time Yaya said, "Utau-chan?"

"What's with all the commission? Why is Ikuto here too?" the idol demanded impatiently.

"You see," Yaya took over the conversation. "Amu-chi is going out with Ikuto."

Amu yelped when Utau's head turned towards her with a cold, hard glare. But the glare quickly dissolved and was replaced by a warm smile. "Well, it's about time."

"Eh…? You're not mad?"

"That's not it. I'm truly annoyed with you right now," the glare returned. "The only girl allowed to get close to Ikuto is me. But… because it's _you_, Amu… I guess I could let you off the hook this time."

-end of flashback-

Well, things did turn out fine in the end though. Now, Amu was graduating, and they were still dating. Her train of thoughts travelled back to the present. Ah, there he was now. Waiting for her like usual.

"Ikuto!" she waved, running over. "Sorry, did you wait long?"

"Hmm… no more than usual," he replied, taking her hand bending to plant a kiss on her lips. "Let's go home."

"Yeah," she smiled to herself as they walked hand in hand.

**End of chapter 21**

**Well… thanks so much for reading all this way. And what a long journey we've come. I hope I haven't disgraced Peach-Pit's name with my fan fiction, because as you all know, they're a million times better than I am. I know I was supposed to add something else to the story, but I started watching TV and forgot. **

**Happy New Year everyone. Even though it's still a little early.**

**Thank you for R&R-ing everyone! Bye Bye!**

***Shugo Chara 1****st**** theme song plays* :3**

**P.S. This will have a sequel- it's called Downhill by Lostcat-Amuto. Guoste-chan gave me the story idea. :3 So why don't you go ahead and read some more? XD**


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